Wayward: The 113th Hunger Games
by TheEngineeringGames
Summary: Memories of rebellion are fading as the 113th Hunger Games approach. The Games are shifting and a hopeful young intern is determined to lead the change. Success is in her reach, as long as she doesn't become wayward.
1. Uncomfortable Beginnings

**Prologue 1:**

All her life, Lisia has imagined hundreds of scenarios of what it would be like the first time she stepped into the Games Headquarters. Thoughts ranged from her getting to create a muttation – she even has some sketches tucked away in her purse – to her giving an idea on the current arena design. Even if they differed wildly, they all included her getting a warm welcome and the Gamemakers being friendly to her, even if she is just an intern.

But never did she imagine the train wreck that is today.

"Girl, are you deaf?"

A hand snaps inches from her face, bringing Lisia back to the sad reality of the Games Headquarters. She turns her attention back to the man in front of her, questioning her opinion on the Head Gamemaker. He scrunches up his face in disgust as he looks at her. "They told me you wouldn't end up like the girl from two years ago. But so far, you're not doing very much to make me believe that."

Lisia straightens up, refusing to let this opportunity slip through her fingers, even if she's discovering more and more that Akakios Salome is a terrible and disgusting person. She shakes her head at the man she's been placed to work with, wishing he was the charming person he appeared to be on TV. The one she idolized for years. "I won't, sir. I'm just a little overwhelmed by everything amazing happening here because it's my first day!"

"Well stop that or you'll never last here," Akakios says with disgust and turns back to the papers on the desk in front of him. "Now go get me some more damn coffee."

"Yes, sir," Lisia answers quietly before turning swiftly to exit the cluttered office. Once her back is facing him, she lets her face show the disgust at the state he keeps his office in. She doesn't understand how he manages to get any work done. She _never_ would let her office reach this much disarray.

She hears a grunt from Akakios as she's about to walk through the door, and nearly freezes in her tracks at the comment she wishes she never heard from him. "Nice ass."

Once she's in the hallway outside of the office, she leans against the wall and closes her eyes, feeling her stomach twist in disgust and overwhelming disappointment. This wasn't how today was supposed to be. She was supposed to meet the amazing Akakios and start working as his intern for the next two years. Not get bossed around and get told she has a nice ass. If she's already feeling this disgruntled after not even one full day, how is she supposed to last two years? And if Akakios treated Sabina like this, well, it's no wonder she didn't make it the full two years of the internship.

Lisia pushes herself from the wall and shakes her head before opening her eyes. She can't afford to quit, no matter how terrible Akakios is. Only three students each year get offered an internship with the Gamemakers, and it's even more rare for someone to be picked to work with the Head Gamemaker. And they picked _her._ Surely that must mean something about her abilities. The academy saw her skills. She just needs to make sure that Akakios can see that and not just her ass.

She sets off on her task, heels clicking as she makes her way to the break room for the third time today. As she adjusts her pencil skirt, she shakes her head at the outfit choice. Tomorrow, she's wearing dress pants. And she'll get through this. This is just one more challenge she has to face on her way to becoming a Gamemaker. And now that she's seen the reality of the Games Headquarters, it's even more motivation to succeed and change things.

"Back again?" Fabio calls out to her as she enters the break room. She glances over to see him leaning against the counter, drinking his own cup of coffee. She shrugs at him as she goes to the coffee pot to starts pouring Akakios's third cup. Fabio chuckles at her, "I know, I certainly didn't expect to be a glorified coffee server."

Lisia turns to face him at this comment, holding the now filled mug tightly to warm her hands. "We can't view it that way. We're lucky to have been chosen for this internship."

"Says the one working with the Head Gamemaker," Mara grumpily says as she joins them, arms crossed as she heads towards the coffee pot next to Lisia. "At least you're not working with fat smelly Gord."

Fabio makes a face at this and Lisia presses her lips together, knowing she does have the more favorable boss. She thinks about telling them about the comment Akakios made, but keeps it to herself. She doesn't want to take their pity. Instead, she looks at the two people stuck with her in this whole ordeal. "We can't let ourselves keep viewing the negatives of this. We're lucky to have gotten these jobs. So yeah, it might suck at times but we've got each other to rant to over some wine at the end of the day." She slams her fist down onto the counter, more to motivate herself about what she's saying. "And damn it, we are going to get through these two years and become fucking awesome Gamemakers."

The two stare at her for a few seconds before Fabio starts laughing and raises his cup in acknowledgement. "Spoken like you're already Head Gamemaker."

His comment makes Lisia smile proudly. She can only hope that someday she can become Head Gamemaker. If she does, she sure as hell will be a better Head Gamemaker than Akakios. She turns her attention to Mara and she soon nods her head, still looking down about today. She sighs at them, "You two better not quit on me or else I'm not making it through Gord and his heavy breathing for two years."

Lisia chuckles at this and gives Mara an encouraging smile, hoping to give her some comfort. But in reality, Mara's words have made Lisia more determined to get through this. Because now she has one more person that she can't let down.

* * *

 **Welcome to my very first partial SYOT! I'm really excited to get this started and really focus on a small group of tributes! More information about submissions and how I'm going to write the POVs is up on my profile. Spots are already filling up and I really hope you'll be interested in sending in a tribute!**

 **Here's just a little taste of my writing style and what I have planned for the Gamemakers (because if you're reading Overlooked, you know I love developing the Gamemakers). If you want to see some more about how I write, you can check out Overlooked.**

 **While we wait for the full tribute list, the next two prologues will give us a look at the eleven mentors that will be featured in this story! I'm really excited to get started on this story and I hope you're as excited as I am!**


	2. Mentors Part 1

**Prologue 2:**

 _Thetis Oneiroi, District One, Victor of the 102_ _nd_ _Hunger Games_

They were wrong. All of them were wrong. 'Thetis won't be able to win.' 'Thetis is just volunteering to get herself killed!'

But she wasn't going to lose and die in this arena.

Thetis holds her hands out to the crackling fire in front of her in an attempt to stay warm with the temperature rapidly dropping. She shakes her head at the thoughts from the disbelievers back in One. She loved the District but damn, some of them were idiots. Just because their training academy wasn't organized and still struggling to keep volunteers doesn't mean her skills are nonexistent. It doesn't mean she's going to die in this arena.

She pats the bow on her lap, a confirmation that she has her weapon easily accessible as she stares out into the night. Oh she knows how to use it. And once she's back in One, she's going to use her skills to train the others. Then she'll start bringing home victors and show them all that her training method is what they need to do to get One back to its former glory and not let Two or Four pass them in number of victors.

Thetis almost shakes her head in disappointment at the thought of the two Districts who are her main competitors. Four wasn't really an issue yet but give it a few more years and they will be. But Two… well, they were a different story. Ever since Kat volunteered and won, her tributes have successfully wiped out all of the One tributes. But not this year. There is no way that Kodi is going to beat her.

So maybe it was a bad idea for her to leave Kodi alive for her final opponent. But he was the only real competition that was left now that they're down to five and her and Kodi are the only trained volunteers left. And what better opponent for the finale? If she can beat him – and she most definitely will – no one will doubt her then. And then, she'll make the training academy the way she wants it to be.

A rustle in the woods has her drawing an arrow out of her quiver in an instant and notching it in her bow. She keeps her bow on her lap and undrawn as her eyes search through the trees behind her fire, waiting to see what tribute thinks they can actually take her on in a fight. She hopes for a brief moment that it won't be Kodi as they parted on good terms and both aware that fighting each other in the finale will be a great show.

A movement to her left catches her eye and she draws her bow, taking only a second to aim in the direction she saw them. Only a few seconds pass between the movement and her releasing the arrow before a scream sounds and there's a thud as the tribute falls to the ground. Thetis jumps to her feet, casually making her way around the fire without notching another arrow.

Sure enough, a few feet into the woods a small girl lies on the ground, clutching her neck as it gushes blood around the arrow lodged in it. She stares up with wide eyes at Thetis and the older girl leans against one of the trees. What a great shot she made for not even seeing the tribute. The girl on the ground makes a gurgling noise before falling still, blood still seeping out of her wound.

 _Boom._

Thetis nods her head at the sound of the cannon before turning around and walking back to her fire. It's a surprise that the girl even made it this far with how young she is. But it's not like she would have ever won. The title of victor will fall to Thetis.

A smile creeps onto her face at the thought of being victor as she sits back down at her fire. _Three more to go and then she'll be victor._

* * *

 _Bronn Vangler, District Two, Victor of the 91_ _st_ _Hunger Games_

The dry ground of the savannah was quickly turning crimson. It was impossible to tell anymore who the blood belonged to anymore and even though the sight of it and what he just did was making his stomach turn, Bronn just couldn't turn his gaze away from the blood stained ground. The blood that he contributed to.

 _Boom._

Bronn finally tears his attention away from the blood at the sound of the cannon firing and stares at the now dead body of Elma. His first kill. Her face is still twisted in the shock from Bronn retaliating at her, splattered with her own and Fai's blood. His knife still rests in her neck and he yanks it out, causing blood to gush out over his hand. At the warmth, he stumbles back before turning to a bush next to him and hurling up the small breakfast of nuts he had shared with Fai.

Once the contents of his stomach are cleared, he stands up and wipes his shaky hands on his shirt. He hesitantly looks back over at the two bodies near him, not wanting to throw up once more. His stomach stays steady as he looks at the older girl from Seven and her twisted face. But his ally and friend… That's a different story.

"I'm sorry, Fai," Bronn lets out a sigh as he sits down on the ground next to his friend. His face still has the hint of the laughter they had been sharing just before an axe was buried into his back by Elma. Bronn hadn't even thought twice about jumping up and burying the knife in her neck as she tried to yank her axe out of his back. But now, they're both dead.

And there's only one other person left in the arena.

The thought hadn't reached him yet until he stared at the two dead tributes in front of him. It had happened so quickly, but now, only the boy from Eight is left. Bronn is in the final two. Sure, the other boy is older and a lot larger than him, but Bronn now has a kill and he didn't hesitate to fight to save himself.

He might just be able to win and get home.

Who would have thought that the untrained fourteen-year-old from Two would be in the final two? Certainly not the Capitol crowds. They had all been rooting for Garni since he had trained. But the boy from One had died in the bloodbath because he rushed in and made a stupid mistake. Bronn hadn't done that and look at where he is now.

He grabs the knife tucked in Fai's belt and places it in his own before standing up, swinging his bag up onto his back. He doesn't look back at the bodies as he starts walking east, back in the direction of the cornucopia, with a new determination in his step. Bronn can do this. He's not afraid anymore that he is incapable of killing. He just might be able to become victor.

Bronn just might get home to his family.

The thought of seeing his parents again brings a smile to his face and adds to his determination to fight and win. "Hey Sylvia," he shouts up at the pink sky, knowing there will be cameras on him right now. The Capitol is surely watching him now and some must be rooting for him. And the most important person rooting for him in the Capitol is his mentor who has gone through so much on her own. But not for much longer. "Get ready to have your first victor!"

* * *

 _Isidore Tecne, District Three, Victor of the 92_ _nd_ _Hunger Games_

Isidore never imagined herself going into the games and she most definitely didn't imagine herself becoming a victor. There wasn't any future for herself in District Three that didn't involve her being miserable and forced to work in the factories making stupid technology for the Capitol. Anything to keep her family alive and food on the table.

And yet, here she is, one of the final two in the games. So close to escaping a future she never wanted, yet being forced into a new, harsh one. She knows already that she's never going to escape the memories of what she did in this arena. What she still has to do. But isn't being alive and haunted by memories of dead kids better than being dead at fifteen?

Maybe. Maybe not. But she was going to do her best to figure out what that life is going to be like. And then, she'll never have to worry about her family starving again or being unhappy because they're constantly working double shifts. And Markos will be able to stay in school as long as he wants to and get a better life for himself.

The thought of her younger brother being happy brings a small smile on her face as she enters the tall grass field that surrounds the cornucopia in a ring. She had fought for her own future up until now, but her final motivation to win will be helping her family.

Isidore pauses as the grass she's pushing aside brushes against itself, creating a beautiful chiming sound. How had she not noticed this before? Well, the only time she had been here was when she ran from the cornucopia and all she could hear was her heart pounding and people screaming as they were killed. Everything in this arena made some sort of noise when touched – she learned that the hard way when she stepped on a flower and it made a horrible screeching sound and brought a tribute towards her. But this? This was beautiful.

She sweeps out her left arm, hoping it wasn't some fluke. But she enough, it also makes a sound. Isidore's smile grows as she keeps walking, creating a beautiful melody as she makes her way to her final battle. She starts humming along to the sound, memorizing it for after she makes it out of the arena. For when she has the opportunity to finally compose music.

All too soon, she reaches the edge of the grass and can see the golden cornucopia glittering in the rising sun. Isidore takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sun rising, knowing she won't see it set tonight in the arena, or possibly ever see it again.

Before she steps out of the grass, she scans the open area, searching for any sign that her final opponent is here and just waiting for her to appear. But Rheana is nowhere to be seen, allowing Isidore to search the remains of the supplies for a better weapon to use in the final fight against the girl from Eleven. The large broken branch that she's used as a club has served her well up to this point, but Isidore would rather not take her chances in the final fight. She might not be smart like most of her District, but she certainly isn't dumb.

The supplies are thoroughly picked through but as she walks into the cornucopia, she can see a mace tucked away in the back of it. Of course it's still there. No one wants to risk messing up with clubbing someone to death when they can use a sharp sword instead. Well, no one besides herself. She grabs the handle, the grip almost feeling like it was meant for her, making her pause as she stares down at the mace, studded with sharp spikes.

 _Did they place this here just for her?_

Maybe. Or maybe not. It doesn't matter, as long as it keeps her alive. As she exits the cornucopia, she tucks her makeshift club into her belt, keeping it just in case her new weapon sucks. And then, she stares around for a moment, wondering how long she has until she faces her final opponent and possibly her own death. But immediately she feels uneasy about her blindspots and walks to the side of the cornucopia, searching for a way to climb up it for a better vantage point. A few empty crates surround her and she quickly pushes them into a makeshift staircase, and then she waits.

Isidore waits and waits, muscles tense as she continuously circles around on top of the cornucopia, waiting for her opponent. Waiting for her chance to get out of this misery and home to her family. She's kept waiting until the sun is directly above her – damn Capitol and their need to sleep in. Can't they see that she's ready to get out of here? Finally, she sees some rustling in the grass, approaching her from the south. She hefts her mace up into a better striking position, bracing herself for this fight.

One more fight and then she's home.

* * *

 _Okeanas Var, District Four, Victor of the 106_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Everyone in the arena with her was a bunch of fucking idiots. Even Okeanas's District partner was an idiot, even though he went through the same training that she did. It wasn't going to even be a challenge for her to win these things.

As she braces herself to run towards the weapons at the start of the games, her eyes search the circle of tributes for her idiotic allies. God, they were all so _stupid_. Honestly, she was tempted to just kill them now and claim the supplies for herself. And the rest of the games will be a breeze because if the trained tributes can't handle her, no one can.

The gong rings and Okeanas takes off for the cornucopia, eyes focused on a greatsword she sees hidden in the opening. _Her_ greatsword. She reaches the weapons before anyone else, having a direct path to the opening of it, and when her hands grip the hilt of the sword, a grin starts to form on her face as the adrenaline starts coursing through her. This is exactly what she's trained for.

She hears footsteps approaching her and with the adrenaline setting her nerves on fire, she doesn't care anymore about having allies and swings out her sword as she turns, knowing the movement will increase the force she strikes with. A head goes flying as the body crumples to the ground, blood spraying from the gaping neck all over the weapons. She has just enough time to register that it was Jade, her 'ally' from One, before more footsteps loudly approach the cornucopia and she walks out to meet them, grinning and covered in blood as she prepares to take out more tributes.

Okeanas walks slowly out of the cornucopia, seeming out of place in the chaos of tributes scattering around. She hefts her blade so the flat side rests on her shoulder as she looks around, daring any tributes to run towards her. Sure enough, the idiotic girl from Three is going to run right past her. Okeanas swings out her blade, the length allowing her to strike the girl's stomach. She crumples to the ground, desperately trying to hold in her intestines as she screams out.

She turns around to see her District partner fall to the ground, a knife embedded in his neck. _What an idiot._

"What the fuck, Okeanas?"

The tip of her sword rests on the ground as she turns back towards the opening of the cornucopia, spotting Quoise standing at the opening and staring down at the head of his District partner. There's no way for him to have seen Okeanas make the kill since he was on the opposite side of the cornucopia. But then again, there's no one here who can decapitate tributes like she can with her greatsword.

Okeanas shrugs at this, not bothered by his attitude or her killing. "She was weak. Not like she would have ever won, anyways."

The chaos surrounding them is starting to die down as Quoise charges at her. She doesn't have enough time or space to swing her sword up to his neck or stomach, but she does have just enough room to strike the side of his left leg, cutting through it easily like that fancy honey butter she had tried in the Capitol. He cries out at his now severed leg and falls to the ground, trying to hit Okeanas with his sword but only managing to snag her jacket. Okeanas kicks the sword away before moving over to him, staring down at his writhing form as he glares up at her. For a brief moment, she contemplates how to kill him, before striking down with her foot, feeling bones crush as he skull bursts open.

 _Wow, that was a lot easier than she thought it would be to crush someone's skull._

Okeanas turns around, wiping her boot on the grass to see the District Two tributes staring at her from a safe distance, out of the reach of her greatsword. "Go," she casually says to them, waving her hand at them. "This alliance is over because you're all fucking idiots. So you can go and attempt to win – which you won't – or you can stick around and I'll just kill you now."

For once they make a smart move and both run away from her, leaving her as the sole owner of the supplies at the cornucopia. She scans the blood covered field, picking up an apple as she starts walking around to see how many died. She takes a large bite of the fruit as she nods her head approvingly.

 _Nine down already. What a piece of cake this is._

* * *

 _Letha Calder, District Five, Victor of the 112_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

As the platform pushes her out into the arena, the sun blinds her at the same time her fear freezes her in place. She can hear her blood pounding in her ears as she stares around at the tributes surrounding her, further freezing her in fear. The careers are fully prepared for this, way more than she ever could be, and they have a look in her eyes that sends a chill down her spine.

The clock is ticking down to the start of the games yet Letha can't even bring herself to look around to find Elia. She can't look away from Parrith, the boy from Two, who looks as if he's ready to murder every single person here.

This is it. This is how she's going to die.

The countdown ends and the gong sounds, starting chaos in front of her and all she can do is stand there in fear and watch as the careers charge forward. A few seconds fly by as the careers reach the weapons yet time seems to slow as other tributes try to get supplies and blood starts flying into the air. Their screams make her crouch down in fear and she can feel her cheeks wetting with tears. She can't do this. She doesn't want to die but she doesn't know how to fight through her fear and just _move._

Someone starts to run towards her and Letha starts breathing quickly as she fears her death. "Letha, move already!" She tries to search for the person shouting at her before seeing the boy running towards her fall to the ground. Landing on top of him and pinning him to the ground is her District partner. Iri glances back up at her as he wrestles to keep the other boy on the ground. "Damn it, Letha! Fucking run already!"

At his shouting, Letha stumbles to her feet before immediately falling off of the platform. Her face slams into the ground, stunning her for a moment as she reaches up to her nose. When she pulls her hand away, she's confused by the blood on her fingers. A hand grabs her and drags her up and she lets out a scream as she starts thrashing at them, not ready to die.

"Calm down, it's Banni," a voice shouts at her, struggling to keep Letha moving. It takes her a few seconds to recognize her ally and she tries to stumble to her feet so they can keep moving. "We need to get out of here."

"We can't – we can't leave," Letha struggles on her feet, wanting to move forward while also wanting to turn back to search for Iri. "We can't leave Iri behind!"

Letha pulls on Banni's arm as she looks back over her shoulder, searching for her District partner. But when she sees his bloody body with a spear protruding from his chest, she stumbles to the ground, blood draining from her face. "No, no, no, no."

Banni stumbles as Letha pulls him down, "Fuck Letha, we can't stop!" But Letha can't move. Not when she knows that Iri is now dead because he tried to get her to move. Banni grabs Letha and tries to keep her moving. "Letha, come on!"

Letha keeps tripping over her feet as they run into the tropical forest, her mind just replaying the image of Iri with the spear in him over and over again. He died trying to save her. She didn't even know him before the games. And now, he's dead. District Five's only chance of a victor is her and she has no idea how to even do that.

But her attention finally falls to Banni as he leads her away from the cornucopia, away from the careers, away from Iri's dead body. Banni could have left her behind yet he did everything to keep her moving. Why? Why are these people helping her so much when it's her life or theirs?

Either way, she has to try now. She has to try so Iri didn't die for her when he could have won.

* * *

 _Dampero Ramin, District Six, Victor of the 108_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Entering the arena was almost a relief to Dampero because for the first time in days, he could _finally_ be away from other people. He was so goddamn tired of being forced to parade around in front of the shrill screams of the crowd. It was so overwhelming and gave him such anxiety to be in front of the crowds.

So yeah, he probably could have done better at his interview and he probably lost a few sponsors from acting so cold. 'The unexpected strong and attractive guy from District Six', that's what they called him. If he didn't hate people so much, he would have been a bit flattered by the compliments. But it doesn't matter anymore if he lost some sponsors. He's proved himself in the games and why he earned that 7 in training. He hadn't hesitated in the bloodbath to run in and get himself some supplies and a weapon. He hadn't hesitated when the girl from Four charged at him. Well, now she's dead and Dampero?

He's the only tribute so far in the 108th Hunger Games who has taken out a career.

 _Fuck yeah, he is totally going to win this and get back home to his dogs._

But not before being paraded some more in front of the Capitol once he becomes victor. At least in the arena he could easily forget about the cameras watching their every move. And he didn't have to have a single person following him around, talking his ear off, and probably drawing other tributes to him with their noise. Really, the arena is almost an introvert's dream place, aside from the whole kill-or-be-killed thing. It's been nearly two days and he hasn't seen another tribute since then and it's been so damn peaceful. He had taken full advantage of the mountainous range that they'll never get the chance to see again, having hiked all day. The only thing that could make this better was having his dogs with him to hike around.

Someone starts yelling and Dampero can hear them running towards him. He lets out a loud sigh before throwing his backpack onto the ground. "Is it too much to ask for some goddamn peace and quiet?" He asks no one as he pulls out the machete he grabbed from the cornucopia as he turns to face the person running down the path towards him. He's not surprised when he sees it isn't one of the careers because they might be dumb but they're not dumb enough to yell and ruin the surprise of their attack.

The boy from Ten races towards him and Dampero watches his movements carefully and he braces himself. The boy dramatically holds his sword with both hands above his head as he runs and Dampero shakes his head at this. What a brilliant way to kill yourself on accident. Dampero twirls his machete once in his hand as the boy gets closer, waiting to see when he brings the sword down.

In a quick movement, Dampero steps to the left of the boy's large swing before striking out once with his machete. The boy's screams stop immediately and Dampero tries to pull his machete out, feeling it getting stuck in his neck. He puts a foot on the boy and yanks with both hands, pulling out the machete with a gush of blood that strikes his chest and accidentally pushing the boy, making him roll down the hill as he holds his hands to his neck.

 _Boom._

Dampero glances down at his shirt, letting out a small sigh at how it's now ruined before wiping his blade on it. Once his machete is tucked back into his belt, he glances down the steep side of the hill and can see the boy's body at the very bottom of it. Well I guess he's not getting any of his supplies. With a small shrug, he keeps walking on his path as if the boy attacking him never even happened.

"Hey Embla, a new shirt would be really nice," Dampero says quietly out loud, not really expecting to get any response from his mentor. "Oh and if you could add in a hot bath and send me one of my dogs, that would also be great."

He walks for a few more feet before coming to a stop, genuinely surprised to see a small silver parachute floating down to him. He reaches out and grabs it, opening the package right away to find three new shirts for him to wear, various colors that blend in with the mountainous surroundings. Dampero sees a note with the gift and actually laughs out loud when he sees Embla's message.

' _I'll get you a hot tub when you're victor.'_

"I'm going to hold you to that!"

* * *

 **Here we go, our first look at the mentors! I have to give credit for Mik for the format of this chapter! So you guys are awesome and the tribute spots are already almost completely filled! There are just two tributes open as of posting this chapter, but there are plenty of escort spots! I would really appreciate if you considered sending in an escort for the story :)**

 **So since I have all of the featured tributes, I'll be able to start writing the intros as soon as I'm done with the second mentor introduction! I'm going to switch up the order and go 1, 11, 2, 10, 3, 9, 4, 8, 5, 7, 6, like I saw Celtic do because I feel bad for the D11 submitters having to wait forever to see their tributes.**

 **So what did you think about this group of mentors? Any stand out favorites?**

 **Be sure to check out the blog for this story, the link is up on my profile! And once again, thank you for submitting and almost filling up the spots completely before the second prologue was even posted! You've all been sending in amazing tributes and I really can't wait to start writing them!**


	3. Mentors Part 2

**Prologue 3:**

 _Stefan Tsuga, Victor of the 111_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

What a joke of a situation he got thrown into. Fourteen years old and fighting for his life. Not only that, but District Seven has become a joke of a District with not a single victor yet since the Second Rebellion. District Eleven has even had at least one victor! Even if he wasn't stupidly tiny and their assigned mentor from the Capitol wasn't a complete idiot, Stefan doubts anyone would even want to sponsor a tribute from District Seven. Not with their current record of victories – or rather, their current record of losses. He sure as hell wouldn't want to.

Whatever. He was going to try his best to prove them wrong, even though he knows his odds of winning against trained tributes is extremely low. But it would give him a sense of satisfaction to prove them all wrong and become District Seven's first victor. Yeah, he's going to keep trying, just to spite them all. He can just picture the shock of the Capitol now and their reaction. _'The fourteen-year-old from Seven of all places became the victor!'_

Stefan chuckles to himself at this thought, not even caring that the people watching probably think he's crazy for laughing to himself in the arena. But, that won't matter soon.

He hears the snap of a twig and whips his head up in the direction of the sound, locking eyes immediately with the much older and larger girl from District Ten. And boy does she look pissed off and ready to kill. "Ah crap," he mutters before jumping up, having just enough sense to grab his axe before he takes off running away from her. "Crap, crap, crap," he mumbles to himself and he keeps running, occasionally glancing back to see that his initial burst of speed didn't put enough distance between them, and she's steadily closing the distance.

 _I am not dying like this. Not on the run._

It's certainly a stupid thought for him to not try to keep running. Call it spite or whatever, but if he's going down, he wants to make sure Seven doesn't keep getting a worse reputation. And at least he knows how to use an axe. That's probably more than the girl chasing him knows.

As she gets closer to him, almost within reaching distance, Stefan grips his axe tightly before turning around, swinging his axe without much reason and just hoping that he even hits her. The girl's face shows a brief flash of surprise at his movement before his axe strikes. And it struck right, more right than he ever could have hoped for.

A gush of blood sprays him on the face before the girl falls to the ground, his axe still sticking into her neck.

 _Boom_.

Stefan stares down at the girl's body for a moment, surprised by how well he had done when he wasn't even aiming. If he did that, what can he accomplish when he actually tries?

Well, he might just be able to achieve a victory.

Stefan leans down to grab his axe, the weapon getting stuck on the girl's bones and making it a struggle to pull it out. He puts a foot on her chest to hold her down and grabs with both hands before finally releasing his axe with another gush of blood. Stefan grips his axe tightly, no longer feeling like he's dead meat and that it would be just a matter of time before the one of the remaining fourteen tributes got to him. Well, thirteen now. It sure as hell won't be easy to win, but he likes a good challenge.

With new determination, he starts back in the direction of his supplies before realizing he has no idea where he ran from. "Crap," he mumbles to himself as he spins around, searching for any detail about where he had come from. "Now would be a nice time for the sponsors to finally pay attention to District Seven."

Instead of a silver parachute – which he really didn't expect to get at all – a strong wind blows against him from the direction he's facing. Too strong compared to the light breezes that have been blowing. That and his recent request makes Stefan have no doubt that the wind was created by the Gamemakers to lead him towards supplies. Because with the strong wind came a smell that he would recognize anywhere from late nights in the summer and from just being from a District known for having trees.

Stefan starts in the direction of the campfire, small smile forming on his face as he grips his axe tightly. He doesn't need to get his own supplies when he can just steal some from a dead tribute. And then, he'll slowly reach his victory.

 _Hopefully the Gamemakers aren't sending him towards the careers or a different trap._

* * *

 _Rami Grant, Victor of the 82_ _nd_ _Hunger Games_

Entering the games had certainly never been part of their plans for their career. Never in the various plans they made about getting into university in District Three did they ever include the games. And what person would actually want to go into the games? Well, excluding the careers but they were a special case and they weren't even a thing anymore thanks to the Second Rebellion. And Rami most definitely was not one of them.

When Rami first heard their name called out, they assumed this was it. No more chances for them to apply to the District Three university in a few months and hope that their scores were high enough to get into their business program. No more chances to figure out how they were going to somehow afford the extra school should they actually get in. And no more chances to open up the business of their dreams.

But then they entered the arena and started to slowly realize that they might just be able to do this. And slowly their plans started to change to factor in their fame and wealth as a victor. Should they get in to university, they would have no problem paying for the education anymore. And once Rami was done, they could start up their business and start creating fashion, even aiming to sell clothes to the Capitol. Before the option of becoming victor, they hadn't even thought about selling to the Capitol because who would want to buy clothes from some nobody in District Eight? But certainly there will be some people who will want to buy clothes from Rami Grant, _victor of the 82_ _nd_ _Hunger Games._

Well… they just have to get that title first. But they are ready to play dirty to get that title and an even better career than they had ever imagined. They were smart enough to have a solid ally and together they had come up with a plan to trap one of the remaining tributes now that their alliance had split up.

But Rami hadn't revealed all of the plan to their ally Davo. And why would they when it involved Davo being the bait and Rami probably leaving him behind? Rami wasn't particularly proud of this plan and didn't want to betray Davo, but they know they need to if they want to win. The reality of the games is that you don't win by being friendly and sometimes you have to play dirty to win. And Rami is going to win.

"I think she's approaching now," Davo whispers to them from where they're both crouched down behind a rock outcropping. They had nearly stumbled off the edge of the cliff near them, giving Rami the great idea to use this to their advantage. Throughout the night Rami had worked on setting up a trap to make it seem like the cliff extended further than it actually did while Davo set up a trail, deliberately making it seem like tributes had made their way up here.

But as Rami worked, they couldn't help but think about how few tributes were left. They were down to the final eight, their alliance making up a quarter of the tributes remaining. And so they had started to plan how to make sure their ally didn't take _their_ title as victor.

Sure enough, Davo is right and the young girl from Four is making her way up the path, searching around here for the tribute that must be around here. As she passes their hiding spot, they both crouch down even further to avoid her detecting them. But Davo messes up and a rock slips from under his foot, alerting the girl to their presence.

Rami turns to Davo, their ally's face full of fear at their detection. "I'm only a little sorry about this," Rami whispers to him before shoving their ally towards their trap. Davo lets out a cry of surprise before he lands on the false ground, immediately tumbling towards the ground. His screams grow farther away as Rami stands up, facing the girl from Four and taking out their knife to fight her.

 _Boom._

The girl stares at Rami in shock, clutching her spear so tightly that her knuckles are growing white. The girl can't be older than fifteen and right now, it's clear to Rami that she never would have won.

Rami strikes out, the girl letting out a scream of surprise and swinging her spear wildly, desperately trying to hit them. But their knife cuts against the back of her hand, making her drop the weapon and cry out in pain as she holds the damaged hand to her chest, fingers barely attached. She drops to her knees, facing growing white as she stares up at Rami. "Please don't kill me! Please, my mother needs me back home!"

"Everyone has a reason to get back home," Rami coolly responds to her, contemplating what to do with her now that their trap didn't go as planned. "But unfortunately, you won't be getting back home. _I_ will be getting back home."

And with that, Rami gives a solid kick to the girl's chest and she flails out as she starts to fall backwards towards the edge of the cliff. She grasps Rami's still raised foot with her good hand, throwing them off balance as her body starts to swing over the side of the cliff. Rami falls to the ground and the girl's nails dig into their leg as they desperately try to grab onto the loose gravel on the cliff. _No, no, no, they can't die!_

Their other foot digs into the ground, stopping them from both sliding off the edge of the cliff. They're both still for a moment, Rami half hanging off the cliff and the girl only hanging by one hand from Rami's leg. The girl tries to start climbing up, using their leg as a ladder and Rami starts shaking it, trying to get her to fall off. But it's no use, she has a death grip on their leg and they can feel their grip starting to slip.

Rami glances back as she grips their ass, trying to pull herself up. And she looks scary for someone that young. Rami turns back around, searching for their knife that fell on the ground when they fell and spots it a few inches away from their hand. They carefully reach for it as they can feel themselves slipping with the girl's climbing efforts. Finally, they grasp the knife and throw their arm back as the girl lets out a cry of anger that gets suddenly cut off as Rami feels the knife make contact. The grip on them lets go and Rami turns around in time to see the girl starting to fall with the knife embedded in her skull.

They pull themselves back onto the cliff, rolling over and staring up at the sky as they breath heavy from the exertion of holding themselves and the girl on the cliff. Fuck. That was way too close.

 _Boom._

Well, only five more tributes to kill until they can get home.

* * *

 _Fonio Donnan, Victor of the 95_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Weren't the games supposed to be _difficult_? So far, Fonio has been living so comfortably in the arena. He had plenty of food, a nice shelter, and water. He even has a nice and warm sleeping bag! And it's all thanks to sponsors. Fonio didn't even need to do anything to get their money. He just showed up in the Capitol, flirted a little with the host and the crowd, and then they started throwing their money at him. Honestly, Fonio has been having a great time so far and is living more comfortably here than he was back home in District Nine.

 _Man, it pays to be attractive._

And once he gets the victor title – since the Capitol clearly loves him now and wants him to win, the Gamemakers will have to let him win – Fonio will start living even more comfortably.

Fonio picks up an apple from his food stash as he props up his feet on the wood log he situated outside his shelter, just for this reason. He stares out at the forest, feeling content at the quiet sounds of the forest that is just completely different from life back home. Perhaps once he's victor they'll ask him to model in the Capitol. It's not completely unheard of and Fonio is definitely attractive enough for it. Maybe he can model some designer suits. Or maybe even some underwear ads. He might have to work out a bit more but he would not mind seeing his attractive body on one of those large billboards in the Capitol.

He nods his head at this as he takes another loud bite of his apple. Yes, he's going to have a great life once he's out of the arena. All he has to do is outlive the other thirteen tributes remaining. Really, it's going to be easy.

Fonio tosses the apple core out of the shelter before leaning back, crossing his arms to make a rest for his head. He stares up at the top of his tent that blocks the sun from reaching him through the trees. Seriously, this is so peaceful and he's glad that no one wanted to be his ally. They all thought he was too 'conceited' or something. Well the joke is on them now because he has it great and they're probably struggling to survive or dead. Hopefully dead. That would make things easier for him in the long run.

It's so peaceful in the forest that it's easy for Fonio to start dozing off.

 _Snap!_

The sound makes Fonio's eyes open wide and as his eyes adjust to the light, he leans up on his arms and squints to look out in the forest. But his eyes open wide once more when he sees his District partner standing there, knife in her hand as she glares down at him. And Einka sure looks more pissed off at him than she ever did during their time in the Capitol. "Oh fuck," Fonio mutters and tries to reach for where he thinks he put his small knife just as Einka tackles him.

Fonio tries to shove the girl off of him and starts scrambling towards the front of the tent, trying to get out of the tight enclosed space. But Einka grabs onto the back of his jacket, yanking him back towards her. She uses her weight once more to try holding him in place and Fonio throws his elbow back at her.

It connects and he hears her grunt in pain before Fonio feels a sharp burning feeling on his arm. "Fuck," he cries out as he tries to roll over off of his stomach so he can try to fight against her better. Once he's on his back, he throws out a hand and grabs Einka's wrist as she gets ready to stab it down at him. They pause for a moment and Fonio chuckles a little at the girl straddling him, "You know, there's a lot of people who are probably really jealous of you right now."

"Fonio, you're such a fucking ass," Einka responds harshly to him before grabbing another knife with her free hand, immediately cutting off Fonio's laughter. She makes a thin cut on his neck before he can knock her hand away, barely saving his life. Einka lets out a cry of anger as her knife goes flying away from her before using her free hand to try pushing the one knife she still holds closer to Fonio's chest.

As she starts getting closer to stabbing him, he uses both hands to try to block her, straining against her surprising strength. They struggle against each other for a few seconds as Fonio desperately tries to think through a way out of this that doesn't end in his death. There's no way he can try to grab one of the discarded knives.

Einka leans forward, trying to throw her weight into pushing the knife down, giving Fonio the opportunity he needs. He slams his head forward into hers and they both groan at the immense pain that it causes. _How do people do that all the time?_ Fonio shakes his head to not focus on the pain and in Einka's distraction, quickly grabs the knife from her hands and slashes out.

Einka starts gasping as she brings her hands up to her neck, not doing much to block the steady stream of blood that is spraying on Fonio's face. In a matter of seconds, she collapses onto him, her blood soaking into his clothes. Fonio can feel himself growing sick at the feeling of her warm, slick blood coating him.

 _Boom._

Fonio lets out a shaky breath before giving Einka's body a good shove, throwing her off of him. "Fuck," he lets out quietly as he shakily sits up, glancing down to see himself and most of his sleeping stuff covered in his District partner's blood. He feels a burning feeling in his chest and brings a hand up, feeling a ripped opening in his shirt and some of his own blood slowly pouring out onto his fingers. When did that happen?

He tries to get to his feet but falls to his knees, too shaky about what just happened. He just came so close to dying. With heavily shaking hands, he grabs one of Einka's arms and starts slowly dragging her out of the tent, still on his knees.

Fonio makes it a few feet out of his shelter with her body before he hears a familiar beeping sound. When he glances up at the sky and sees a small silver parachute floating down towards him, he lets out a sigh of relief. He drops Einka's arm so he can catch the sponsor gift and rips into it, finding a small amount of bandages inside.

Well, the sponsors haven't given up on him yet.

* * *

 _Johan Bonavento, Victor of the 104_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Johan really was surprised that he had made it this far into the games. Only ten people left and he's one of them? He hasn't picked up a weapon to kill anyone yet and kind of hopes that it can stay that way for a while, even though he knows that won't happen if he wants to become victor. And he so desperately wants to get home to both his family and Darlia.

Johan lets out a small sigh at the thought of his closest friend as he sits in front of the fire with his ally. He really should have told her how he felt before he left the District. He also definitely shouldn't have revealed his crush during his interview. But it might be the best that he doesn't know now what she thinks. Because right now, she's a reason for him to fight, but she could have been a reason for him to doubt himself.

"What are you thinking about?" Oreste asks him, bringing Johan out of his thoughts. He looks up to see the District Six boy giving him a small smile, in turn making Johan smile. It's really not a good thing how much Johan has grown to like his ally as they obviously both can't make it out, but still, he's happy that he has Oreste by his side in this arena.

"Back home," Johan answers honestly before giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "The people I'm fighting to get home to."

Oreste nods his head at this and gives Johan a sad smile. "I think about my parents all the time. And my younger brother who just looks up to me and thinks I'm the coolest person ever," he pauses to chuckle at this. "Little does he know I'm just a nerdy person and not really that cool."

"I always wished I had a sibling," Johan responds to Oreste before falling silent, staring into the fire in front of him and starting to feel upset at the memories of years spent alone. But he looks back up at his ally and starts to smile again. At least he isn't alone now.

"Trust me, they're not that-" Oreste cuts off at the breaking of branches as a figure comes running towards them. When Johan realizes it's one of the career guys, he knows they have no shot at beating him. But Oreste grabs Johan's jacket, trying to drag him up. "Come on, we have to run!"

Johan scrambles to his feet as the guy comes to a stop in front of them. Even worse, it's the one from District Two. Johan shakes his head at Oreste, feeling a little stupid at his decision but he pushes Oreste away. His ally has a lot greater chance of winning because he hasn't been afraid to kill. Oreste has more bravery than Johan does. "Go! Don't let both of us die here."

"I'm not leaving you," Oreste stubbornly says as Johan stares at the boy from Two, feeling his heart racing at the sheer size difference between them. He can hear the plead in Oreste's voice as he starts to take out the dull axe they managed to get from the cornucopia. "Johan, run with me!"

"Get out of here!" He yells at Oreste harshly. A few seconds pass before he finally hears Oreste running away. Johan shakes his head as he tries to push aside his fear, but standing in front of his killer, he feels pure terror running through him. He almost considers running after Oreste but stands his ground, ready to make sure that his ally can win.

The boy in front of him shakes his head at Johan and laughs at him, the sound causing more fear to run through him. "That was a really dumb idea. He's still going to die because once I get done with you, I'm going to find him and kill him."

The guy unsheathes a sword that looks a lot sharper than Johan's poor excuse for an axe. He starts to take a couple steps closer to Johan who takes a few shaky breaths, stupidly hoping that maybe he can have a chance to beat this guy.

 _Just let Oreste get far enough away to live._

The guy makes a large swing of his sword, the action taking enough time for Johan to duck around him and try to elbow him in the side. A grunt from the career tells him that he succeeded as he runs a few feet away before turning around to look at him. For once, his small size and speed might help him and keep him alive for just a little bit longer.

The guy gives Johan an absolutely terrifying look and Johan can feel his face paling as the career starts to walk towards him, gripping his side and hunched over slightly. "Oh you are so going to die."

Yeah, Johan is probably going to die. The career tries to make another swing at Johan and he once again ducks under him before making a really dumb move. He tries to tackle the career's legs and it takes a few seconds of him being unbalanced before they finally both tumble to the ground. Johan loses his grip on his axe as the guy scrambles to pin Johan to the ground. He succeeds, given his much greater size and once Johan is pinned down, he starts struggling to get free but it's useless.

The guy wraps his hands tightly around Johan's neck, cutting off his air supply. He frantically tries pulling the career's hands away as he brings his knees up, trying to do _anything_ to get some air. He starts gasping as his lungs feel like they're on fire as he desperately needs air.

 _Fire._

Johan can just barely see the fire to his left as his vision starts to darken and he reaches out, ignoring the immense pain as he grabs a log and smacks the career with it as hard as he can. His grip lightens as Johan drops the burning wood, allowing Johan to take a huge gasp of air before the career falls on top of him. _Holy shit did I just kill a career?_

Johan still feels lightheaded and tries to push the career's heavy body off of him, his fingers slipping as he tries to move him. Why is he slippery?

As his vision straightens out, he sees red covering the careers neck and falling onto Johan. A figure stands over them and Johan closes his eyes for a moment, realizing that he hadn't killed the career. Another tribute took advantage of the careers distraction during their fight, and now they're going to kill Johan.

The body is pulled off of him and familiar laughter makes his eyes shoot open in shock. "Did you really think I was going to abandon you?" Oreste laughs as he holds out his hand for Johan to take. Johan can't form any words as he takes Oreste's hand and gets pulled up from the ground, his throat still feeling on fire from being choked. "Come on, let's go and win this."

* * *

 _Garia Solanum, Victor of the 79_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Garia has already lost too much in her life to lose the games. The rebellion had already torn her family apart… Her mother lost in the chaos of a riot… Her father imprisoned for participating in the riots after his grief over losing his wife drove him crazy… And her younger sister…

No. As much as the loss still feels fresh and causes so much pain in her chest, Garia _cannot_ afford to get distracted right now. Not when distraction could result in her death. And she needs to get home to her remaining family. Uriel can't take care of the twins without her helping out and earning some money in the fields. It's bad enough that they had to stop school at the age of twelve to keep them all from starving. She wasn't going to make them take out tesserae.

Garia comes to a stop as the eerie bell chime that she will never get used to sounds in the arena, indicating that yet another hour has passed. She turns her attention up to the sky, waiting for when the Gamemakers will display the map of the arena for five short seconds, allowing the tributes to see where the remaining tributes are located. It was a sick and twisted way for them to make sure the fighting never stopped and to inspire fear into the tributes. Anything to keep punishing them for the rebellion that Garia wanted to forget about more than anything.

But with the end so close, every appearance of the map matters. She's one of only three tributes left and she is so close to getting out of here. Except when the map appears, the five seconds seem to stretch on forever as she realizes that the Vivian, the girl from District Ten, is very close to her. Way too close for her comfort. She can feel her forehead start to form sweat in fear of the large girl with muscles from years of handling livestock. She's just on the opposite side of the hill Garia had been starting to walk up.

The sky turns back to the bright blue, not a single cloud to block the sun. Garia's heart starts racing as she stares up the hill covered in small sage bushes, contemplating if the girl is going to chase after her. She needs to run, put as much distance between them, yet she can't bring her feet to move. All she can think about is the girl's promise during the interviews.

' _I'm going to kill every last tribute here, especially if they have ties to rebels. Those tributes I'm going to absolutely destroy.'_

But Garia wasn't involved in the rebellion. She had lost two family members to it! Yet the Capitol had no problem telling the world that Garia's father had been arrested during the rebellion. It didn't matter that Garia denounced all relation to him.

Vivian still wants to kill her.

The girl runs up to the top of the hill, stopping at the top to stare down at Garia before grinning maliciously and pointing with her spear. "Finally! You're the last one of the rebel scum!"

Vivian takes a step forward and that's when Garia finally gets her feet to start moving. She races back down the hill, momentum building and her feet sliding on some of the rocks scattering the ground. She doesn't dare look back to see how far away Vivian is but the girl's evil laughter lets Garia know that the distance between them is slowly closing.

Garia searches around as she starts running through the paths between the hills, trying to find something she can use to help her kill Vivian because she refuses to get close to the girl. Getting close will almost guarantee her death and she will _not_ let that happen.

"You're not going to get away from me!" Vivian shouts and something goes flying past Garia's face just as she turns, something that certainly would have hit her if she hadn't turned.

Garia rounds the corner around a sharp face of a hill and immediately throws herself down to the ground as she sees Alexios running towards her, bow notched and ready to shoot. He shoots just as Vivian's laughter comes around the corner, quickly turning into gurgling. Garia glances back to see the older girl collapsing to the ground, blood spilling out of her mouth and arrow sticking out of her chest.

 _Boom._

But the boy from Three is still running towards her so she scrambles to grab the spear Vivian's hands still grasp tightly. She rips it free as the loud footsteps get closer and without looking, she thrusts it towards her left. When she feels resistance followed by a gasp of pain, she turns to see Alexios impaled on the end of it, the spear embedded deep in his stomach. Garia lets go of the spear in shock, causing the boy to fall to the ground as he tries to reach out and grab her. He gets ahold of her foot but she kicks him away, falling over and scrambling backwards from him. Finally, he stops moving, his eyes still staring at Garia.

 _Boom._

"Ladies and gentlemen, the victor of the 79th Hunger Games: Garia Solanum!"

And with the announcement, Garia starts to cry. She looks up at the hovercraft that just appeared above her and shakily gets to her feet. Somehow, she did it. She's going home.

* * *

 **Okay here's our second batch of mentors! And yeah, I'm only doing one per district because I feel like it. Besides, D7 and D11 only have one victor each. But anyways! What did you think about this group? Definitely a lot more assholes who were willing to kill compared to the first group. Except for Johan. Him and Letha are just both sweethearts.**

 **Oh and one thing I want to clarify about Bronn because I saw a few people comment on it being weird that he's untrained from D2. At the time of his victory, training hadn't started back up again after the rebellion so everyone was untrained then. So that's how Bronn was picked as an untrained fourteen year old.**

 **So now we can finally start the intro chapters woot woot! First up of course is District One! There are still a few escort spots open so if you're interested, I'm accepting two per person! Just check out my profile for the current list!**


	4. District 1: Attention

**Chapter 1:**

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District 1_

 _Four Months Before The Reaping_

"Hey Pirate!"

Pyrite looks up from lacing up their boot at the sound of their familiar nickname, grinning as their friend approaches them. A few girls nearby in the locker room look around confused at the name before Pyrite waves at their friend. "What's up, Jo?"

The girls stare at Pyrite as they finish lacing up their shoes. Let them stare all they want, it won't bother them at all. In fact, it's just making them happy at the reason for their stares. "Are you ready yet or are you going to take another hour to get ready?" Joy asks as she sits down on the bench next to Pyrite, grinning at them. "Because the party started a half hour ago and you're the guest of honor."

Pyrite laughs loudly at this as they start tossing clothes into their locker, drawing more attention over to them. "Well, I think they'll live when they realize that I was training. Thetis has stepped my training up now that they've chosen me to be the volunteer."

"Yes," Joy says dramatically as she drops down, motioning wildly with her arms. "Ladies, gentlemen, and all genders in-between," Joy loudly calls out, her voice echoing in the locker room. "Pirate – I mean, Pyrite," Joy corrects with a wink at Pyrite, making them start laughing loudly at Joy's display, "Pyrite Cherno, our one and only volunteer for District One this year!"

Pyrite jumps up and gives a couple low bows as Joy cheers and claps, just like they would at the end of a performance. "Thank you, thank you," they call out, pretending to wave at the girls giving them even more bizarre looks. Pyrite falls into a fit of laughter, still in an amazing mood from finding out they are going to be the volunteer. They lean against the lockers as Joy stands up and smiles at their friend. "Oh Jo, I'm still a little in disbelief! And don't pinch me, I know I'm not dreaming!" They say quickly as Joy gets ready to pinch them. Joy simply laughs at this before picking up Pyrite's discarded bag and tossing it to them. "Okay, you don't have to tell me twice to get going."

Pyrite quickly throws the rest of their training stuff in their locker before slamming it shut. They turn to Joy, big grin on their face as they hold out their arm. "Let's go celebrate me being awesome!"

Joy takes their arm, both of them laughing loudly as they exit the locker room, earning some more stares from other people making their way to the same place they're off to. "Wow Pirate you get picked as the volunteer and suddenly you're all full of yourself!"

"You're the one who encouraged me!" Pyrite says through laughter as they exit the training academy. They let out a wistful sigh and push back their platinum blond hair as they start the short walk over to Armani's house. Well, house is a nice way of putting it. Mansion is probably better. Pyrite's still a little surprised that Armani put together this party for Pyrite since she was one of the top five choices for volunteer. But Pyrite is pretty sure Armani had this party planned for when she was picked and just didn't want it to go to waste.

"Oh look who it is, Jo and Pirate," Hera falls into step next to Pyrite, grin on his face. "You two took so long that I'm going to miss out on all of the cute guys from training by time we get there. You know I don't get to see them often," he jokes with them before grabbing on to Pyrite's other arm. Hera looks at Pyrite's outfit before nodding his head approvingly. "I'm glad I'm not going after the girls tonight because you're obviously going to steal them all."

Pyrite flushes a little at this comment, hoping that some of the girls might be interested in them tonight. They hadn't been too sure about the white button up tucked into their leather pants but they suppose it's too late to change now as they can already hear the sounds of the party. "Is the outfit too much?"

"No my dear, you look fabulous," Hera dramatically says before fanning himself at Pyrite's appearance. "But seriously, who are you trying to impress? You've already won over the victors. You don't need to impress any of these nobodies."

"You know exactly who they're trying to impress," Joy teases, making Pyrite's face start to flush a little as the music gets louder and Armani's house comes into view. A few people are out on the front lawn and their voices carry in the wind.

"Oh shut up," Pyrite tries to get Joy to stop but their friend looks way too excited about it.

"Oh Iolite," Hera puts a hand up to his forehead and pretends to swoon. "You looked so hot while training in those tight pants."

"Don't forget the revealing tank top," Joy adds in and they both laugh as Pyrite starts to pout.

"I hate you two," they jokingly say to them and shake their head. "I doubt she wants anything to do with me. She was the second choice. You can't tell me that she won't be bitter at me for taking her spot in the games."

"Nonsense," Hera responds as they start walking through the outskirts of the party crowd. Whispers about Pyrite's arrival start to travel, just putting a huge smile on their face. "Not with Pirate wearing that outfit."

"Shut up," Pyrite tells him as they enter the house, immediately getting overwhelmed by the music pounding, feeling the bass deep in their chest, and the large crowd gathered. Some people have already started dancing together, using the open space left behind from the couches pushed aside as a makeshift dance floor. "Wow, Armani really went all out for this party."

"Are you really surprised?" Hera shouts over the noise of the crowd as his eyes scan the people present. When he spots his target for the evening, his bright blue eyes light up in excitement before he turns back to Pyrite and Joy, a mischievous grin on his face. "Well friends, come find me before you leave. But if you don't see me, well, hopefully that means things are going well with Endell."

Pyrite watches their friend run off through the crowd, just barely able to see the top of his curly brown hair. On the far side of the room Hera's newest crush leans against the wall, laughing as he holds a plastic cup full of who knows what and talking to his friend Pride. The sight of Pride is a bit of a surprise to them, but it really shouldn't be. He is the younger brother of a victor, even if his sister was a bit unconventional for One. Why shouldn't he be at the party with the trainees? "Why do I feel like he won't be successful at all?" They ask Joy, their friend laughing loudly as Hera reaches Endell and Pride.

"Pyrite!" A loud high pitched voice makes its way over the music to Pyrite, making them look around for a second as they feel happy about being noticed. The host of the evening approaches them, weaving through the crowd at a fast pace that leaves Pyrite questioning how she doesn't spill anything in the two cups she holds. Once Armani gets closer, Pyrite almost gets blinded by the purple lights reflecting off of Armani's dress covered in sequins. Of course the girl's blonde hair is curled perfectly, she probably spent hours getting ready for tonight. "What took you so long? Never mind! You're here now! Have a drink!"

Armani tries to pass one of her cups to Pyrite, shoving the cup close to their face. They can smell the alcohol right away and politely pushes it away. "No thanks. I haven't turned 18 yet so I really don't want to get in trouble with the Peacekeepers."

Armani rolls her eyes at this but keeps grinning at Pyrite. "Come on, Pyrite! Just one night of partying!" Pyrite shakes their head adamantly at this and is almost ready to keep telling Armani no before the girl gives a shrug. "Fine, suit yourself. Joy, you want some?"

"Is that a real question?" Joy answers as she takes the cup from Armani. The host laughs loudly at this as Joy turns her attention to Pyrite. Pyrite watches their friend down half the cup, pursing their lips a little. Not at the drinking, Pyrite could care less if Joy wants to do that. No, they just hope that Joy isn't using it as a way to cope. They stare at Joy's face and the bags under her eyes. No, today isn't a bad depression day. But still, they're concerned for their friend. Joy raises an eyebrow at them, "Hey stop looking at me like that. Yeah I'm into everyone but I'm not making out with my best friend tonight."

"Shut up," they lightly shove their friend as Joy laughs at this, both of them knowing the other is just joking. But Pyrite gets serious for a moment, even as they see Armani standing to the side and looking impatient. "Do you want me to stick with you tonight?"

"Nah," Joy answers with a wave of her free hand. "Go have fun. They're celebrating you, remember?"

"Come on, Pyrite! You need to start partying!" Armani grabs on to Pyrite's arm and starts dragging them through the crowd. They glance back to look at Joy, wanting to make sure she's going to be okay on her own. Joy shakes her head at Pyrite and waves before disappearing into the crowd, tipping back the cup. "I've been talking to Iolite, Yves, and Fendi!"

This makes Pyrite instantly turn their attention back to Armani, feeling their cheeks heating up at the thought of talking to Iolite. "Aren't there other people to talk to?"

Armani laughs loudly at this as Pyrite catches sight of the three girls. "I promise none of them are mad that you took their spot!" Armani turns to wink over her shoulder at Pyrite. "Well, maybe just a little bit."

Pyrite runs a hand through their hair, pushing it back and hoping it looks good as they reach the girls. They all smile at Pyrite but they can't stop looking at Iolite and the way her dress hugs all of her curves and the way her black hair frames her cute little face. _God, Pyrite, get it fucking together._

Pyrite clears their throat and gives what they hope is a casual smile. And please let the lighting hide the flush that's forming because Iolite most definitely just checked them out. "Hey ladies."

"Hey Pyrite," Iolite says and gives Pyrite a smile that just sends their heart racing. Damn it, she's so cute. Armani starts chatting away loudly with Yves and Fendi as Iolite leans in closer to Pyrite so she can be heard over the noise. "Is it a masculine day?"

"Yes, ma'am," Pyrite stands up tall, almost giddy with happiness that Iolite noticed that small detail. And it also means that Iolite has paid enough attention to them to notice the differences in Pyrite's appearance to indicate which gender they identify more with that day. "So, uh, listen," Pyrite starts and can see Iolite's striking gray eyes start to look concerned. For a second, they lose track of what they were going to say as Iolite focuses entirely on them. "You don't have any hard feelings towards me being picked, do you?"

Iolite lets out a sigh at this and shrugs before smiling up at Pyrite. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to not be going after years of training. But am I mad? Just at myself for not trying harder, not you. The victors chose you, fair and square." Iolite pauses to smile up at Pyrite, making them absolutely certain that they're face is beat red at her attention. "I know you're going to do great and win that title. At least I'll be able to say I was second to the victor."

"You're more than just second to me, you're way more than that," Pyrite responds and swears they see Iolite's cheeks turning red in the light. _Well damn, maybe Joy and Hera were right._

"Well look who it is," a voice calls out over the crowd, making Pyrite start frowning as she sees Royce approaching their group. Tall, brutish Royce who should have been the volunteer this year but is so dumb that the victors didn't want to be embarrassed by him. Honestly, Pyrite would rather deal with an untrained tribute than Royce. "Iolite and the girl who she should have been chosen over."

Pyrite's good mood over Iolite's attention instantly disappears, being replaced by annoyance at Royce, especially over him calling them a girl. They try to ignore him, turning their attention back to Iolite. But the girl seems even angrier at Royce. "What do you want? I was having a very nice conversation with _them_ before you showed up."

Pyrite grins a little at Iolite using their proper pronouns but their smile disappears as soon as they glance back over and see Royce's scowling face as his eyes raked hungrily over their appearance. "I don't get why you're wasting your time with her. She shouldn't be the volunteer. So come on, dance with me instead. Pyrite, she's never going to want to dance with you. None of the girls will."

Pyrite stares at Royce, turning more upset with each passing second that this asshole will so blatantly insulting them, not just by refusing to acknowledge their identity but also him implying that none of the girls will like them. Their hands shake as they crack their knuckles, trying to focus on anything other than the asshole in front of them. They've never wanted to use their training outside of the academy before out of fear of getting in trouble, but right now, well, they can understand why some of the trainees have gotten in trouble before for fighting.

"Fuck off, Royce," Iolite angrily calls out to him and in a move that shocks Pyrite, she steps forward and punches him square in the jaw. He stumbles backwards, bumping into a few people who cry out in surprise.

Pyrite doesn't have time to see how he responds as they start pushing through the crowd, just feeling too upset to want to party anymore or have the attention on them. "Pyrite, wait!" Iolite calls out, just making them start walking faster to get to the door.

Once outside, they take a deep breath and start stomping away, still cracking their knuckles to just focus on not going back in and telling off Royce. "What a fucking ass," they angrily mumble to themselves. "He ruined the whole fucking party."

"Pirate!" They hear and pause at the edge of the yard to turn back, stopping at the nickname only their best friends use. Sure enough, Hera and Joy are running towards them. "What happened?" Joy asks as the pair reaches them.

"Royce being an asshole and saying I don't deserve to be the volunteer and also blatantly using the wrong pronouns," Pyrite takes a shaky breath as they jump from foot to foot, trying to calm down so they can get back to enjoying the rest of the party. But it's no use. There's no way they'll be able to have fun now. They turn and start walking down the road, hearing Joy and Hera following after them. "Honestly, I just want to go home."

"Well you're not going without us," Joy answers as she loops her arm with Pyrite's.

Hera does the same with their other arm. "Yeah, even if I was totally going to get Endell's number, I'm still leaving with you."

"Thanks guys," Pyrite says quietly, smiling slightly at them. "I'm sure my mom won't mind you crashing at my place. And don't worry, Hera, you're not the only one who was going to get someone's number. Iolite was totally flirting with me."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

It's odd to see the training academy so empty of other trainees their age, but as Pyrite walks towards the large gym, they can't help but grin at the rearranged area turned into a small banquet. This is it. This is what they've been working towards for years and now the day has finally arrived.

Even if their family isn't in the best mood, Pyrite is still happy to have them with them for this breakfast. After all, it's the last time they'll be together for a few weeks.

"I know I've said this probably a thousand times," their mother starts as they enter the main gym. They both pause so Aria can smile at her child. "But I'm going to say it again. I'm so proud of you and the work you've put in over the years to reach this point."

"Well I'm not," Mica says stubbornly and they both turn to look over at their younger brother. He stands back, arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he stares at Pyrite and their mother. "This is stupid and I don't understand why you're volunteering to die!"

"But I'm not going to die, little bro," Pyrite responds cheerfully, trying not to let Mica's mood ruin their day. Ah, the joys of being a teenager. They ruffle his already messy brown hair, much to his annoyance and he quickly swats away their hand. "I'm going to be the victor and then you'll have to admit that I'm the coolest older sibling ever."

"Unlikely," Mica stubbornly answers before stomping off into the room, heading straight towards the food tables.

Their Uncle Soleil steps forward, letting out a sigh as the three of them watch Mica start throwing food onto a plate, still scowling and getting concerned looks from Richina Fleur, one of the most unexpected victors present, and her younger brother Pride. "I'll go make sure he doesn't piss off all of the victors here." Soleil turns his attention to Pyrite and they smile up at him. "You know what it's like to be that age. I think he's also concerned that there isn't a male volunteer this year."

"Well I'm not worried!" Ruri says excitedly as he inserts himself into the conversation as Soleil starts to head after Mica. Their youngest brother is grinning up at them, still excited that Pyrite is going to be the volunteer.

"Ruri, why don't you go grab some food with your uncle and brother?" Their mother says kindly, but Pyrite can recognize her concerned tone from the two being so close. Ruri listens to her and instantly runs after the other two, grin on his face as he stops to talk excitedly with Tanya, despite the victor being over twice his age. But Pyrite doesn't blame him for stopping. They were a little starstruck too the first time they were able to talk to the first trained victor in One. "Should he be worried?"

Pyrite turns their attention to their mother, pulling her into a half hug as soon as they see her face filled with worry. "I don't think so. His name is in twice."

"Pyrite!" They turn at the sound of their name, grinning at the sight of their mentor approaching. Thetis grins at them, her good mood palpable. "Are you going to stand at the entrance all morning or are you going to actually enjoy the breakfast we've prepared for you?"

Pyrite laughs at this and lets go of their mom to join Thetis. "Of course I'm going to eat. I wouldn't want to pass out before the Reaping."

They turn back to look at their mom who gives them a nod that she'll be fine. Thetis starts to lead them towards the front of the tables, talking quietly as she gives Pyrite a stern look. "You're definitely going to volunteer, right?"

"Of course I am," Pyrite answers immediately, not understanding Thetis's concern.

"Good," Thetis responds and she starts grinning once more. "Sorry, I'm sure you understand my concern given our situation this year. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to run off and find Iolite before the Reaping."

Pyrite's face flushes slightly at the mention of Iolite. They had successfully avoided lengthy conversations with her since the party, not knowing what to say to her before they head off to the games. "No, you don't need to go running. Unless you want to have one last running session before I volunteer."

Thetis laughs loudly at this as they come to a stop at the front of the room. "No, no, I think you're more than prepared. And you look too nice and ready to volunteer. I would feel bad if you had to get ready once more."

Pyrite glances down at their tight black pants and blue button up, feeling a little underdressed next to some of the siblings and children of the victors present. But at the same time, they don't mind standing out. After all, they are the volunteer. "There would be worse things to do."

"I agree," Thetis responds quietly, smiling at Pyrite before turning her attention to the people gathered. "Okay everyone," Thetis calls out to the victors and their families, turning their attention towards Pyrite and making them start grinning. "Can I have your attention for a couple minutes? Don't worry, I won't keep you very long from your breakfast." A few people in the crowd laugh at this and Pyrite looks around at the gathered people. Seven victors. More than any of the other Districts right now. A few look a bit worried, mostly those here with sons or younger brothers. Especially poor Richina who holds on to her brother Pride's hand with a death grip. Of course she's worried since she was the result of a similar year when there was only one volunteer. But then there are others who look cheerful and excited about the games. Pyrite grins a bit more when they see Ruri still talking to Tanya, the victor being kind enough to keep talking to him still.

"First, I want to say congratulations to Pyrite Cherno, our chosen volunteer," Thetis starts, pausing as the gathered people applaud Pyrite. They wave happily at them, loving being the sole person they're paying attention to. Ruri cheers loudly for them, making a few people nearby laugh at his behavior, including Pyrite. Thetis turns to look at Pyrite, smiling proudly at them. "Pyrite, we're all very proud of you and know you're going to do well in the games. Would you like to say anything?"

"Yes," Pyrite responds before turning their attention to the crowd, grin still on their face. They speak loudly, something they only know how to do from years of being in the theater. "I am very honored to be chosen as the volunteer this year as it's such a prestigious thing. I've trained for years for this and I won't let you down. District One will have a victor this year."

Pyrite smiles at the victors and their relatives as they once again applaud them before nodding at Thetis to continue. "Now, I know we're all a little disappointed that we only have one volunteer this year. Trust me when I say that I am more disappointed than any of you can imagine. I've spent the past eleven years training and preparing volunteers. This training academy is my pride and I love District One. Even to this day, I still wake up and start smiling when I remember that I have earned the title of victor for our District." Thetis pauses as she smiles a little at this before her face turns solemn. "But it's that reason that we couldn't have a male volunteer this year. The options this year were either arrogant and would have been an embarrassment to the system we have or weren't prepared enough."

Thetis lets out a sigh before she starts pacing in front of the victors. Pyrite can't see her face but can tell by her tone that it deeply upsets their mentor that she couldn't have provided two volunteers this year. "Please believe me when I say I hope with everything in me that one of your relatives is not Reaped this year. "Anastasia…" Pyrite looks over at the oldest victor alive in any of the Districts, her face solemn as she holds a young boy close to her. "I know your grandson is just entering Reaping age. And Theo, Leandros, and Richina… You three either have sons or brothers. I sincerely hope they will all be safe."

Pyrite looks out at the gathered crowd, most of the boys there of Reaping age seem so young. Pride is probably the oldest at 17 and might stand the greatest chance if he was picked out of the boys here. Pyrite has seen him in the academy but he never seemed serious about volunteering. But it doesn't matter. They all probably have extremely low chances of being picked and Pyrite is in agreeance with Thetis. They don't want to see a victor's relative entering the arena with them.

"Now, enough of being solemn," Thetis finally continues, starting to smile once more. "We still have a reason to celebrate today." Petrina, one of the older victors, steps forward with two glasses of champagne and hands one to each of them. Pyrite sniffs the glass, still not really accustomed to drinking since their eighteenth birthday. But they'll still drink a little now. After all, Thetis is raising her glass in honor of Pyrite. It would be rude for them not to drink when they're all excited for them to be the victor. "To Pyrite Cherno, District One's next victor."

"To Pyrite!" The gathered crowd echoes, their brother Rumi the loudest with his glass of orange juice in hand. As Pyrite raises their glass with them, they can't help but feel on top of the world. _And it's only going to get better in the Capitol._

* * *

 _Rhea Dragonstone, Escort for District One_

Another year, another trip back to District One, much to Rhea's delight. She's worked her way here, starting out in District Ten eighteen years ago. And she plans to keep coming back to District One for at least another ten years. Who wouldn't want to be here? They're the superior District as far as looks go and they have the most victors.

Rhea braces herself to exit the Justice Building, ready to make her appearance, especially since she in the last year she finally got the alteration to add a pair of beautiful dragon wings to her back. And with her hair freshly dyed platinum blonde and braided elegantly, Rhea is on top of the world. She gets the signal for her entrance and gives a nod to her assistants to throw open the doors, grinning as she steps out on the stage.

"Hello District One!" Rhea yells out to the crowd, getting some faces of surprise before the crowd gives applause at her appearance. After all, this is her eighth year as an escort in One. They know her well. But the applause isn't as loud as it usually is, almost making Rhea frown a little. The rumors must be true then and they don't have two volunteers. But she keeps the grin on her face as she remembers that this is her big moment. "It is just wonderful to be back here in District One! You're looking as beautiful as always!"

"Of course, I'm Rhea Dragonstone and I'm ready to bring home another victor to District One!" This time, the whole crowd genuinely cheers at her statement. Rhea grins out at them and clasps her hands together. "Now, should we get started?"

With the crowd cheering, Rhea makes her way to the left side of the stage, loving the fact that Panem is getting a great profile shot of her new wings. She can't wait to get back to hear what her friends say. She wastes no time in picking a slip from the top of the bowl and returns to the microphone, excited to see who will be coming to the stage. "And our female tribute is Peyton Callard!"

A girl steps out of the sixteen-year-old section, smile on her face and looking as if she was going to attend a wedding, not the Reaping. But she walks confidently on stage, making Rhea certain that there will be a volunteer stepping forward. That or the girl has trained and wants to be the tribute. "And of course, are there any volunteers?"

"Yes, I volunteer!" A voice cries out loudly before the figure steps out from the very front of the crowd, quickly approaching the stage. They practically run up the steps and takes the microphone from Rhea, leaving her staring at the volunteer in surprise. Their appearance is a bit unusual for the typical volunteers Rhea has seen, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a blue button up. And platinum blond hair cut short and shaved on the sides that could rival Rhea's in color. But Rhea nods her head approvingly at their toned muscles. They've clearly trained for this. "I'm Pyrite Cherno and I'm excited to be District One's next victor!"

Pyrite passes the microphone back to Rhea as the crowd cheers for them, looking like they could die of happiness right now from their attention. Well, not really die, Rhea wants to have a victor. "Welcome, Pyrite. Now, let's see who will join Pyrite!" As Rhea walks over to the other glass ball, she silently hopes that the rumors won't be true and there will be two volunteers. Pyrite looks more than capable of winning but Rhea doesn't want to count on just one person. She hesitates for a moment before picking a slip and quickly walking back to the microphone. "Alright our male tribute is…" Rhea's blood definitely runs cold when she sees the name written on the piece of paper, making her hope even more that someone will take his place. "Pride Flourish."

An unhappy murmur travels through the crowd as Rhea looks back at the victors on the stage, finding Pride's sister Richina right away since she's still their youngest victor. Her face has grown pale as she stares straight ahead in shock as Pyrite mumbles next to Rhea. "Wow."

Rhea turns her attention back to the crowd in time to see Pride leaving the seventeen-year-old section, trying to look confident as he walks to the stage but his eyes are wide as he looks up at Rhea and Pyrite. He only hesitates for a moment at the stairs before walking up onto the stage. He towers over Rhea and even Pyrite, looking quite pretty and further making Rhea believe that District One has the most beautiful people outside of the Capitol.

Rhea takes a deep breath as she keeps her smile on, hoping someone will step forward. "And are there any volunteers for Pride?" The crowd stays quiet and Rhea can feel her smile falter as she hears a small sob coming from behind her on the stage. She doesn't dare turn and look at Richina, knowing she won't be able to handle seeing one of the victors crying. "No?" Rhea asks, starting to feel desperate for someone to come forward. She loves the victors too much to see one of their relatives go into the games.

But no one volunteers for Pride. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have our tributes for the 113th Hunger Games," Rhea says sadly with a sigh. "Pyrite Cherno and Pride Flourish."

Rhea tries to keep the smile on her face as she turns around, watching the two tributes hesitantly shake hands. This year is going to be her most challenging yet.

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Thetis totally jinxed District One this morning at their breakfast. She talked so much about hoping that one of the victor's relatives wouldn't be chosen with them. And now, Pyrite has to go into the games with Pride Flourish. At least they have some amount of training. Not enough to be even remotely close to being considered as a volunteer for the games… but maybe enough to keep him alive longer than the bloodbath.

And now Pyrite has the difficult decision of what to do with him. They could just ignore him and let him figure out his own alliance. But they can't do that. Not when they saw the look on Richina's face. Pyrite shakes their head as they stare out the window, watching the crowds leaving the City Square. Yes, they're going to have to help him out, at least a little.

Pyrite turns at the sound of the door opening and starts smiling at the sight of their mother and Ruri. But their smile falters when they're the only two walking in. Their mother smiles knowingly as she shuts the door behind them. "Mica still thinks you're being an idiot – his words, not mine," she chuckles a little at this and Pyrite shakes their head as their mother approaches before hugging her tightly. "Soleil followed after him to make sure he didn't start some drama or something worse in his teenage rage. He does send his love though."

"Why am I not surprised by Mica?" Pyrite asks before letting go of their mother, letting out a small sigh. "I had hoped to tease him before I left but I guess I'll just have to wait until I get back."

"I can't believe my older sibling is the volunteer!" Ruri says excitedly, drawing Pyrite's attention away from their mother. They hug him, feeling excited themselves at this day finally arriving. It had felt so amazing being up on the stage and the entire District cheering for _them._ "You're going to look so awesome in the Capitol and obviously you're going to kick ass in the games."

"Ruri!" Their mother calls out at his swearing, making Pyrite laugh as his face as he starts cringing.

"Sorry mom, blame Mica for teaching me that one," Ruri gives a nervous chuckle, clearly hoping their mother will be content with passing along the blame. "But anyways, Pyrite, I can't wait to watch you in the games and I'm going to brag to everyone in school about how awesome my sibling is and how that will be me in five years!"

"Well keep working hard and maybe you'll get there," Pyrite tells him, although inside they're hoping a little that he'll grow out of his extreme excitement over the games and won't want to volunteer. They're not sure if they would be able to handle watching him in the games or even being his mentor. They look at their mother and brother before they start grinning. "I'm going to miss you two, and Uncle Soleil and Mica. But I'll be back soon."

"I know, Pyrite, but I'm still going to worry about you just a little bit," their mother pulls them in for another tight hug. "We're all so very proud of you. And I love you so very much."

"I love you too, mom," Pyrite answers as they hug her before stepping back. They grab on to Ruri with one arm and use their free hand to mess up his short blond hair. "Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone."

"No guarantees on that," Ruri responds as he slips out of their grip, laughing as he runs over to the door. "Love ya, Pyrite!"

"Love you too little bro!" Pyrite shouts at them as he leaves the room, their mom starting to follow after him. She pauses in the doorway to look back at Pyrite, tears in her eyes despite the proud smile on her face. "Mom, I'll be back."

"I know but it's my job to worry," she answers with a shrug. "You're my first child, I'm always going to worry about you."

Pyrite grins at this, doubting there will be a day when they aren't happy about how much their mother loves them. "I love you, mom."

"And I love you too. I'll see you in a couple weeks."

Their mother doesn't close the door behind her and soon enough, Joy and Hera walk in, both grinning at Pyrite. "Pirate!" Hera shouts happily and throws his arms in the air. "You did it!"

"I know!" Pyrite says with a laugh, still feeling on top of the world.

Hera reaches them and grabs on to them in a tight hug. "My best friend is so awesome and you're going to be amazing in the games."

Pyrite returns the hug, still smiling but as they look at Joy slowly walking over, their smile starts to falter. "Jo?"

Joy gives them a small smile but it doesn't reach her eyes. Eyes with large bags under them. "Sorry Pirate, I don't want to ruin your big day. I just…today isn't a good day for me."

"Come here," Hera responds and lets go of Pyrite just enough to pull Joy into their hug. Pyrite holds on to Joy tightly, wishing there was more they could do for their friend. "Pirate is going to kick ass and there's nothing for us to be worried about."

"I know so stop hugging me," Joy says, voice mumbled as her face is getting pressed against Hera's chest. Pyrite and Hera both laugh at this and let go of Joy. "But it's kind of terrible luck that Pirate has to go in with the brother of a victor."

Pyrite shakes their head at this, still not sure what to do. "Tell me about it."

"What are you going to do?" Joy asks them and Pyrite simply shrugs at her, still not fully knowing what to do and just wanting to talk to Thetis about it.

"They're going to become the victor, that's what they're going to do," Hera answers confidently, his faith in them making Pyrite instantly light up. "We knew there would be an untrained tribute with them and it doesn't matter that he's Richina's brother. Yeah it will suck when someone that attractive dies but Pirate is still going to win."

Pyrite laughs loudly at Hera's comment, even Joy chuckles a little. "Oh I love you guys," Pyrite responds before pulling them back in for a hug. "And yes, I'm going to do exactly what Hera just said."

When they let go of their friends, Joy gets a bit of a mischievous smile on her face. She clears her throat before speaking in a loud and dramatic voice. "Ladies, gentlemen, and all genders in-between: Pyrite Cherno, victor of the 113th Hunger Games!"

Hera cheers loudly at this and Pyrite bursts out in laughter at the two of them. "The other tributes are going to be so boring compared to you two!"

"Well good, you don't want them like us," Hera scoffs at this and shakes his head. "Then you wouldn't be able to kill them and become victor. But, I suppose it is time to say farewell, Pirate."

"I'll miss you two," Pyrite tells them as Hera grabs Joy's arm, ready to start leading her towards the door.

"We'll see you in a couple weeks," Joy tells them, giving them a small smile.

Hera opens the door and turns back, a grin on his face that makes Pyrite instantly think that he's up to trouble. "Oh hi, Iolite," he calls loudly as they walk through the door.

Pyrite scrambles to straighten out their outfit, not ready for the girl to walk in. Iolite stays near the door, shutting it behind her as she smiles at Pyrite. "Hey Pyrite. I wanted to stop by and say good luck."

"Thank you," Pyrite responds quietly, face heating up and heart racing, even though they don't know why. They really have no reason to be feeling this way towards Iolite since they've barely talked since the party.

Iolite opens the door to leave but pauses to turn back to look at Pyrite. "Oh and when you get back, make sure you come see me," she says with a quick wink before slipping through the door.

Pyrite grins at the door as they're left alone, falling back onto the couch and feeling like they could do anything right now with how great they feel after volunteering, the crowd's attention, and now Iolite stopping by. This might just be the best day ever.

No one else stops by to see them, not that Pyrite really expected anyone to show up. And when Rhea comes to take them to the train station, they still have a grin on their face at Iolite's attention. While Pride looks sad and struggles to wave at the crowd gathered at the train station, Pyrite has no problem waving at them and basking in the attention that they're giving them, District One's next victor.

* * *

 **I want to start by saying huge thanks to VeneratedArt and HoppsHungerFan for Pyrite and Pride respectively! I really hope I did well with Pyrite and obviously we're going to see a lot more of Pride in future chapters! And I tried my very best to make sure I used Pyrite's proper pronouns throughout but as they are my first tribute using they/them pronouns, I'm gonna apologize now if I messed up at all and missed it when reading through again. Also Art, I hope you don't mind me creating Iolite because I wanted to give Pyrite a cute girl interested in them.**

 **So there we go, our first featured tribute! Oh and as we go through the intro chapters, let me know if you see any possible alliances because I literally have nothing planned right now for allies. Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time in District Eleven!**


	5. District 11: Superstitions

**Chapter 2:**

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District 11_

 _Six Months Before The Reaping_

The sound of the whistle going off shocks Addae out of his work. As he stands up, he brushes sweat off of his forehead and squints to look around in confusion for why the Peacekeepers are stopping their work already. They had just had their short lunch break an hour ago and the sun is still beating down on the people in the field. Yet everyone else seems to have no issue with this as the collect their tools and baskets full of apples they've picked today.

"Addae, did you really forget what day it is?"

Addae turns at the sound of his name, smiling slightly at the sight of his friend climbing down from the ladder next to him, balancing a large basket full of apples in one hand. Addae doesn't fear his friend's safety, knowing the charm he gave him will protect him. He hadn't forgotten what day it is. It would be hard for him to forget something such as the Victory Tour coming through District Eleven. Addae knew the exact moment the train had arrived in the District with the newest victor – another victor not belonging to District Eleven – having felt the change in the air that only something as terrible as the Hunger Games could bring with it. "I haven't forgotten."

"Well good," Gregor responds and gives him a solid pat on his back. "Let's get moving so we can go see Letha. Unless you have some bad mojo vibes about her?"

"No," Addae answers quietly as he picks up his basket and they start heading in the direction of everyone else towards the Peacekeepers. "Letha is a kind soul. I can feel that."

"Cute too, huh?" Gregor nudges Addae's side with his elbow, giving him a grin as he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. At Addae's unchanging face, his friend lets out a sigh and stops his actions but the smile stays on his face. "Come on, even you can admit that she's cute."

Addae doesn't respond to this, hating to judge someone simply based on their appearance when he knows there is so much more to a person with their spiritual energy. But yes, even he can admit that Letha is a beautiful person, regardless of him never wanting to date a female. "We were talking about her soul, not her appearance."

"Right, right," Gregor says lightly as they get closer to a large group of children gathered around an older figure standing barely above most of them. Addae finds himself smiling at the sight of Garia passing out her own apples to the children, knowing that the children will receive more gold since they would have 'picked' more. The victor also slips in some gold sometimes to the children to aid them in their families. Addae knows she does this because she wants to give back to them, having once been among those children when he was younger. "Thirty four years later and she's still out here working when she doesn't need to be. Shouldn't she be welcoming Letha?"

"Perhaps," Addae shrugs at this, knowing the reason Garia does it is because she's just a good person. "Maybe she views this as more important. Garia is another kind soul and I feel like Letha would not be opposed to a delay in meeting Garia if she knows this is the reason why."

"Hmm," Gregor answers as they watch Garia laugh at something one of the little kids told her, giving him her full attention. District Eleven needs more people like that to give the kids hope. "What the hell…" Gregor mumbles as they start to hear raised voices from a group standing at the outskirts of the group surrounding Garia.

At the center of the group seems to be a small girl, anxiously watching Garia and seemingly wanting her aid, but too afraid to speak up. The girl looks barely like she's in the Reaping age and the couple boys around her look only a year or two older at best. "Why are you bothering, Maddie? Garia won't want to help out an ugly girl like you." Addae clenches his fists at the boy's words and the terrible feeling that accompanies them. Surely Garia must not have heard this kids or else she definitely would have intervened. The young girl – Maddie, the boy had called her – starts to walk away from Garia, clearly trying to get away from the boys. But they follow after her, continuing to insult her.

"Karma is going to get them," Addae mutters to himself as they approach the group, able to hear more of the insults being thrown at the small girl, for no reason other than the colored disfigurements scattered across her face. Addae has seen the girl working before – anyone would remember seeing a girl with patches of lighter skin on her face and arms – but had never talked to her before. In fact, he has never seen anyone talking to her other than other kids her age insulting her. "Should we do something?" Addae turns to his friend, wondering if perhaps he can boost his own good karma by helping out the girl.

"She'll be fine," he responds with a shrug as they walk past the girl. Addae catches a glimpse of her face, dark circles under her eyes and a look of sadness and fear in her eyes, and isn't too sure if he believes his friend. But as he turns away, he hears a boy cry out in pain and they both turn back to see one of the boys clutching his cheek and the girl holding her fist. She looks around in a panic as the crowd turns their attention to her before running away quickly, away from their judgement and the wrath of the Peacekeepers. "See?" Gregor lets out a laugh at this and Addae turns back to see his friend shaking his head, a small smile on his face. "I told you she would be fine."

"It was karma and bad luck," Addae responds quietly as some of the boys run past them, the boy that got punched leading the way. Addae shakes his head at them, "I told you there was some bad energy in the air today and it's all thanks to the games."

Gregor laughs loudly at this, much to Addae's irritation. "Addae, anyone could have seen that the girl was going to punch that boy in the face. I didn't even need your belief."

Addae starts frowning as they get in line to hand over their food to the Peacekeepers. "I still have a bad feeling about today." He turns his attention to Gregor, studying the older man carefully to see if there's any hints of bad supernatural energy surrounding him.

"Dude, you know I hate when you look at me like that," Gregor jokes with him and lets out a nervous chuckle when Addae's intense stare doesn't leave him. "Do you, uh, notice anything?"

Addae shakes his head at this and turns his attention to the moving line in front of them. "No. But you are still wearing the protection charm I gave you, right?"

Gregor pulls out the small wooden pendent from inside his shirt and it twirls in front of Addae, but he can recognize the carefully carved symbols. "I never take it off. Not after that one day when I didn't wear it and I tripped on a rock and had to get stitches."

As the reach the front of the line, Addae reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small wood carving that he had done last night. He starts to pass it over to Gregor before a Peacekeeper snatches it out of his hand. "What is that? You're not allowed to take things from the field."

"Sir, it's just a simple wood carving that I made last night," Addae responds calmly as the Peacekeeper inspects the small piece, staring intently at the carvings on it. "It's a gift for my boyfriend," Addae says carefully, hoping the Peacekeeper won't be one of the rare homophobic ones still present throughout Panem. And it's technically not a lie, he's giving it to his friend that happens to be a boy.

"What's the carving?" The Peacekeeper cautiously asks as another approaches, curious about what is going on.

Addae can feel a tension in the air at the second Peacekeeper approaching and grabs on to the wooden necklace he wears, feeling a bit of protection from the engraved beads. "It's a geranium, his favorite flower."

"Well son," the new Peacekeeper remarks to him, her voice rich with sarcasm. "I'd say you need to work on your carving because that does not look like a flower at all. Give it back, Corporal. We don't have time to waste on this."

"Yes ma'am," he responds and tosses the wood carving over to Gregor. "Enjoy your gift from your boyfriend."

"I will," Gregor responds easily as they pass over their baskets of apples. "Come on, _dear,_ let's go see Letha."

Addae normally would have rolled his eyes at Gregor's tone, but he still feels a terrible chill in his spine from the Peacekeeper in charge. As they start to walk away, he whispers fervently to Gregor as he keeps an eye on her. "I have a bad feeling about the second one."

"She's a Peacekeeper. You always have bad feelings about them," Gregor responds coolly, waving to a friend as they walk past. When he turns his attention back to Addae and sees his face, his smile drops. "Really?" Addae nods his head at this and Gregor grabs on to his arm, pulling him away faster from the Peacekeepers. "Well we're getting the hell away from here because I do not want to get caught up in whatever bad mojo you're feeling."

Addae lets out a sigh at him, "I hate when you call it mojo because-"

"Watch it!"

Addae turns back at the sound of a person crying out just in time to see a Peacekeeper flailing their arms from the top of a ladder leaning against one of their trucks. At the base of the ladder, another tries to stabilize the ladder but it's no use, and soon the ladder comes crashing down, striking the commander that Addae had a bad feeling about.

"Ah shit, I hate when you're right about stuff like that," Gregor mutters and starts pulling Addae away even faster as Peacekeepers scramble to help get the fallen Peacekeeper and ladder off of the commander. "Years of being friends and it still creeps me out just a little when you predict stuff like that."

"It's my connection with the spirits, you know that," Addae tells Gregor as he takes another glance back at the Peacekeepers, no longer feeling that sickly feeling in his spine at the sight of the commander. Yes, the supernatural forces were definitely at work today. "It's because of the Hunger Games coming into town with the Victory Tour," Addae tells Gregor as he turns his attention back to the road in front of them, completely sure in his belief that the games are causing this terrible energy throughout District Eleven. Why else would there be so many supernatural forces acting today?

Addae can fill his stomach twisting at the knowledge that the supernatural forces acting in Panem are simply getting worse. His family must find a way to end it. For several years now, his family has discussed how to fix it and they've finally come up with a solution. Yet he can't let his sister risk her life, even if his family believes in the women being stronger. He can't lose her when he's older and better prepared. "I have to stop it."

"Stop what? The Victory Tour?" Gregor asks in disbelief. Addae shakes his head at this, knowing that Letha is not the cause of things going wrong here. She's just another innocent who was dragged into the curse on Panem. His friend's face quickly turns to complete disbelief at Addae's response. "The games?" His voice drops to a harsh whisper as he looks around, making sure there isn't anyone around to hear this dangerous talk. "Addae, there is no possible way that you can stop the Hunger Games from happening."

"I'm not trying to stop the games from happening," Addae responds just as quietly to Gregor. "But I will try to break whatever curse the games has placed on Panem."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

"Addae!" A sharp voice says to him and fingers snap in front of his face, bringing him back to the conversation going on. He finds his mother watching him, concerned by his lack of focus. "Unika, I told you he should wait another year."

"Mother, I'm fine," Addae reassures her, not wanting to wait another year to try and break the curse within Panem. "I'm simply tired from staying up late last night working on the final charms for my token."

"See Nayo?" His father speaks up as he passes around a plate of eggs, smile on his face as he looks at Addae before turning his attention to his wife. "I told you he's ready."

His mother lets out a sigh as she puts a pile of potatoes on Addae's plate before moving around the table to Ramila's spot, shaking her head at the empty seat. "Where's your sister?" She asks Addae and when he shrugs his shoulders, she turns her attention to the stairs and starts shouting, "Ramila! Breakfast! If you're not down in a minute, I'm giving your serving to Addae."

Addae doesn't really think she'll follow through on her threat, but sure enough, within a few seconds they can hear footsteps running towards them. Ramila flies into her seat, pushing back her black hair that's fallen in her face and grinning at their mother. "No way am I giving Addae extra food. He's about to go to the Capitol and be feasting!"

Addae shakes his head at this as he starts eating the food on his plate. "I'm not going just to eat," he says quietly to his sister as she stuffs her face, looking quite happy with the food. "Besides, I don't think the Capitol food can compare to a homecooked meal."

"Oh shush," his mother responds as she finally takes her seat. She gives him a hard look, instantly making him focus on what's ahead of him. "This is not a matter to be joking about. Now, you have your necklace of charms made?" Addae nods his head, pausing in eating his food to pull out the necklace tucked in his shirt filled with small beads all etched with different charms. "The all-seeing eye?"

"Yes, mother," Addae responds in-between bites of food.

"What about mojo hand?"

"Second bead to the left of the center crescent and hand protection charm," Addae responds without looking up from his plate. He knows exactly which charms are where, without having to look down at his necklace.

"And what about the rattlesnake?" His mother continues to ask, ignoring her own food to keep quizzing Addae about his preparations.

"Nayo," his father cautions and his mother sits back in her chair, not looking too pleased to stop her quizzing. "You were there when he made the charms. He has everything." Once his mother nods her head in agreement, his father turns his attention to Addae to begin his own last minute advice. "Now Addae, make sure you find the plants you need to keep casting protection charms in the arena. We'll perform our own here but you know their more effective when cast by the person and in close proximity."

"Would you two stop already?" Grandmother speaks up, making his parents instantly look like two little kids that are about to be scolded. "The boy is ready to break the curse. Can you not see that?"

His father lets out a sigh as he nods his head. "Of course, mother. You've taught him well."

"Now Addae," his grandmother continues and reaches over, taking his hand with a surprising force for someone so small. But Addae knows her frail exterior hides unexpected strength, thanks to their lifestyle. "Never underestimate the Capitol and what they might do to you. You will be heading into the worst supernatural forces you can imagine. You must keep level headed and whatever you do, trust your gut feeling."

"I will," Addae responds to her, knowing he's prepared for this. He's known for months now that this is what he must to, not just for his family or District Eleven, but for all of Panem. "If I ever find myself doubting what I should do, I will ask myself what you would do in my place."

"You put too much faith in me, child," his grandmother answers with an amused look on her face. "But if that is what it takes, then do it. Now, you must get going with Ramila so you two are not late for check in."

"Shit," Ramila mutters around food in her mouth as she stares down at her half-eaten plate of food.

"Ramila, I don't ever want to hear that word again coming out of your mouth!" Their mother scolds his sister before staring wide-eyed at their father. "Where did she learn that?"

Addae keeps quiet but shares a knowing look with his grandmother. If their mother knew all the terrible words Grandma taught them, she would be washing everyone's mouths in soap or worse. "Let's go, Ramila," Addae says and his sister jumps out of her seat, eager to get out of trouble. Addae gives Grandma and his mother kisses on the cheek as he leaves, and a pat on his father's shoulder. "I'll see you in the Justice Building."

"Just remember to speak loud and clear!" His mother calls after them as they leave their house, always one to try and give last minute advice.

Once the door is shut and they've started walking with the steady flow of children heading to the City Square, Ramila looks up at Addae and gives him a big grin. "Thanks for helping me out there in getting away from mom!"

Addae glances down at her, an eyebrow raised as she sheepishly turns away from him. "Maybe you shouldn't pick up on Grandma's cursing?"

Ramila chuckles at this and shakes her head at Addae. "There's no way that's happening. Grandma is too much fun to be around and to learn from. Besides, it's not that- Addae, look!"

Addae follows where Ramila is pointing to see a small snake slithering across the road in front of them, it's bright red coloring unlike anything Addae has seen in District Eleven before. He grins at the sight of his favorite animal as some children nearby scream and run away from it. Addae gently uses a foot to guide the snake off the side of the road before some idiot tries to kill it. "This is a good sign," Addae says quietly to his sister as they continue walking along. He spares one quick glance back at the snake disappearing into the brush before turning back to his sister. He touches the rattlesnake charm on his necklace, feeling a warm feeling run through him. "This is a very good sign. Ramila, little sister, I think the supernatural forces want me to volunteer for the games."

"Well I would hope so since you're about to volunteer in less than a half hour," Ramila jokingly responds to him before her face becomes serious, surprising Addae since she's normally so lighthearted. She lets out a loud sigh as she looks up at him, "Are you sure you can win?"

"Of course," Addae responds before coming to a stop and pulling Ramila over to the side of the road so they don't block other people trying to walk to the town center. "Ramila, what's wrong? And don't even try to say nothing, I know every way you try to lie."

Ramila lets out another loud sigh at this and stares down at the ground, kicking her foot at a rock resting on the edge of the road. "I'm worried about you. I know you have the protection charms but still. I don't want to lose my big brother."

Addae pulls her into a hug at this, wishing he could do more to cheer her up. "You're not going to lose me. I'm doing this to protect all of us." He lets out a sigh as they earn some sad looks from adults walking by. The sight of two siblings hugging on Reaping day isn't too abnormal, but Addae doesn't like the pity coming from them. "Listen, Ramila. I have to do this but I will come home to you. I promise."

"Pinky promise me," Ramila says as she steps back, sounding a lot younger in that moment than her fifteen years. Addae is almost ready to not grab her pinky that she holds out to him, but when he sees the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, he takes her pinky in his.

"I pinky promise that I will come home to you," Addae answers her confidently, truly believing that he can do it. But when he lets go of Ramila's pinky, he can see fear still in her eyes, even though she tries to hide it from him. "What else are you worried about?"

Ramila shakes her head at this and turns her head away from Addae as they start walking once more, trying to hide the scared look from him. He patiently waits for her to answer him, knowing how stubborn she can get and that she will answer when she's ready. "I'm just a little worried that my name will get called."

"Don't be," Addae responds immediately, drawing Ramila's attention at his confident tone. He gives her a small smile as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the last wood carvings he did last night. He holds it out to her and she hesitantly takes it from him. As she examines the carvings, she starts to smile at their meaning. "Don't tell mother and father but the reason I stayed up so late was because I was doing one last protection charm to make sure you wouldn't be picked to go with me. But Grandma definitely knows because she caught me and helped me finish it so I could finally go to bed."

Ramila suddenly hugs him and he stumbles a little from her throwing her body at him. "Thank you, Addae," she whispers to him as he hugs her back. "And not just for the protection charm. Thank you for volunteering to break the curse. I…" She steps back from him and Addae takes her arm to pull her off to the side of the road once again. "I've been terrified ever since I turned twelve that this would be the year that our parents and Grandmother decided I was ready. But I don't think I would ever be ready to volunteer."

"I know," Addae responds quietly. Even if Ramila never admitted it to him before now, he could see it in her eyes every time the curse was brought up that she would never be ready to volunteer for the games. "I think sometimes they forget that you need to kill in the games, not just break the curse. And I wasn't going to let you fight to the death. Not my baby sister- oof!"

Ramila slams into him again, hugging him tight enough that his ribs hurt. But he doesn't say anything and instead returns the tight hug. "What did I do to deserve such a great brother?"

"What did I do to deserve such a cool younger sister?" Addae counters and Ramila scoffs at this, causing him to start laughing. Ramila steps back at the sound, smiling at the fact that she's one of two people who can actually get him to laugh. "Come on," Addae says as he puts an arm around Ramila's shoulder. They start walking once more towards town, the road quickly becoming more crowded as the Reaping time approaches. "I have to go save Panem."

* * *

 _Amity Beaulieu, Escort for District Eleven_

Amity still cannot believe that she was placed in District Eleven last year. _Eleven_ , of all places! Ugh, every day for the past year she's prayed that Akakios and the Gamemakers would realize her amazing talent and take her away from this disgusting, dirty, smelly, and ugly place. How can people actually live here? She obviously deserves to be in District One, even if the Gamemakers failed to recognize that. She's the hottest upcoming talent in the escorting world, even if she's no longer the youngest escort this year. No matter, she's still the prettiest. No one else is as on top of the fashion trends as her.

 _At least she doesn't have a tacky pair of dragon wings like Rhea_.

Amity shudders at the thought of Rhea's newest modification. Did the woman actually think it looked good? It's just one more sign that Rhea is past her prime and it's time for a hot new escort to take her place. Someone like Amity.

The mayor finishes up their speech, looking just as miserable as Amity feels to be here in District Eleven. She flips her silver hair over her shoulder delicately to not mess up the curls and partial updo that took hours of careful preparation. As she steps out onto the stage, she flashes a grin at the cameras, just knowing that they'll be talking about her wonderful outfit. Why wouldn't they when the neon pink dress stands out completely from the drab colors surrounding her?

Ugh. It's so ugly here. Would it hurt them to add a little bit of color to their wardrobes?

"Hello District Eleven," she says to the crowd, forcing herself to stay focused on impressing the Capitol and not the terrible crowd in front of her. "I'm Amity Beaulieu, but of course you remember me from last year!" She poses with her hand on her hip, waiting for the crowd to give some sort of applause at her being there. When they stay silent, she scowls at them and crosses her arms. How dare they not realize they're blessed by her presence in their drab District? "Hmph. Very rude to not acknowledge your escort. I guess we will pick the female tribute."

Amity throws her hair over her other shoulder before strutting over to the left side of the stage, making sure she walks gracefully and keeps the Capitol's attention on her. They'll have to promote her after they're reminded how beautiful she is today. Amity takes her time at the glass ball, swirling her hand around and pretending to pick a couple slips to keep their attention on her. Once she finally settles on a name to call out in this pathetic District, she struts back to the microphone, heels clicking loudly on the stage. "Alright Maddelena Sallow, let's hurry up here."

The crowd is silent as they start looking around and Amity lets out a loud sigh as she puts a hand on her hip. "Maddelena? Come on, we don't have all day here!"

A sob sounds from the back of the crowd and Amity can't help the small scowl that forms on her face as a tiny girl steps out from the twelve-year-old section. But the scowl quickly turns to shock and disgust at the girl's face covered in random spots of pale skin that contrast sharply with her dark skin. Just _great_ , Amity has a tribute with a terrible skin disorder. If that disease is contagious, _ugh_ , this is why she needs to get away from District Eleven!

The sobs grow louder as the girl gets closer to the stage before being intermittent with loud, shaky breaths. As she reaches the stage, her eyes are wide in fear as she stares around at the crowd staring at her in return. But when she catches sight of Amity staring down at her in disgust, she freezes in place, overcome by her sobs. A Peacekeeper steps forward and takes Maddelena's arm, dragging her up onto the stage.

Amity keeps her distance from the girl, refusing to catch whatever disgusting skin disorder she has. But it doesn't matter, Maddelena seems to want nothing to do with her and instead is staring at the ground, tears running down her bizarre looking face and sobs shaking her body.

Just great, this girl won't stand a chance at all.

"Any volunteers for Maddelena?" Amity almost pleads to the crowd, desperate for a better tribute so that she can actually have a chance of leaving this miserable District next year. But of course, no one wants to step forward to take the place of the pitiful girl. "Fine. Let's hope our male tribute better."

Amity can feel her bad mood increasing with every sob out of Maddelena so when she reaches the other glass ball, she wastes no time in picking the next name. Just anything to get off this stage already. When Amity returns to the microphone, she's almost certain that Maddelena's sobs have grown more frequent. "Alright Alnus Cardaria, let's hope you can do better."

"Are you kidding me," Amity mutters to herself as another crying kid steps out from near the back of the crowd. "I'm never getting promoted."

At least Alnus walks straight up to the stage and doesn't need Peacekeepers to step in like Maddelena. But still, there's no hope for her this year. "The answer is probably no, but any volunteers for Alnus?"

Unsurprisingly, Amity is met with silence. She lets out a sigh and gets ready to motion for the tributes to shake hands before freezing as a voice yells out clearly over the crowd. "I volunteer!"

Amity raises her eyebrows in surprise as the crowd starts to mutter at the volunteer stepping out from among the seventeen-year-olds, taller than quite a few of the children near him. If Amity saw him in the Capitol and not disgusting District Eleven, she doesn't doubt that she would tell her friends that he's tall, dark, and handsome. But the thin frame and stubble across his face reminds her very quickly that he is below her. "Well then," Amity says as the boy reaches the stage, fixing her with an intimidating gaze. "This is a rare occurrence to have volunteer in District Eleven. And what's your name?"

He ignores her for a moment, much to her annoyance, to stare at Maddelena crying next to Amity, his face unreadable. Finally, he meets her gaze, looking leery about her. "Addae Trillions."

Some in the crowd surprisingly give light applause to him, shocking Amity because sure, he's a volunteer, but he doesn't seem that great. "Well you look like someone who might actually have a chance for District-" Amity cuts off with a small squeak when Addae turns his attention to her, giving her a terrifying stare at her about to criticize Maddelena. "Well, um, here are your tributes. Maddelena Sallow and Addae Trillions."

The crowd gives some applause for the tributes – ugh, they didn't do that for Amity – as Addae holds out his hand to Maddelena to shake. It takes a few seconds for her to start glancing between the boy and the ground before finally she reaches out and takes his hand for just a second. Amity tries to take a step away from Addae and his intimidating stare, but when she realizes she's stepped closer to Maddelena, she cringes and takes a step back instead. Ugh, at least it seems like her skin disorder isn't contagious if Addae shook her hand. But still, even with a volunteer, they're still not career tributes.

 _Whatever, she'll get out of this District eventually. And then she'll live up to her full potential in District One._

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

"Did you feel the curse on little Maddelena?" Grandmother asks as she enters the room, pulling Addae's attention from outside the window and getting a final good look at his home. He nods his head at the family matriarch as the rest of the family follows her into the room. He had felt it now that he was able to stand close to her. It now explains so much about why on the few times he's seen her before, she seems to always have people bullying her. And he doesn't doubt the curse is what cause the skin discoloration.

"I've seen her before," Addae mentions as he walks over to the couch and sits down, quickly joined by Ramila and his grandmother.

"You cannot let that distract you, Addae," his mother speaks up and from her tone, he can tell she's ready to give him even more last minute advice. "Don't forget the reason why you volunteered."

"I won't, mother," Addae responds quietly before she steps towards him and pulls him into an unexpected hug. "You've taught me well."

"I know," she whispers to him, pulling him closer. "But I'm still your mother. I'll always worry about you."

"Do you think Amity has some curse on her?" Ramila asks and their mother steps back from Addae. They all give her a confused look and Addae knows that none of them felt a curse. "She seemed so weird towards Addae and Maddelena."

"Oh yes," Grandmother gives a solemn nod of her head and their father's look turns even more confused at this. "Amity, my dear, is cursed with being a bitch."

Ramila and their father laugh loudly at this as Grandmother gives a toothy grin at them. But their mother does not look happy, "Mother! Are you the one that taught Ramila how to curse?"

Grandmother shrugs at this but gives Addae and Ramila a quick wink when their mother isn't looking. Ramila stifles a laugh at this, turning it into a cough when their mother gives her a stern look. "This is not the time to be joking," she says with a sigh.

"You're right," Addae speaks up, knowing he must focus despite wanting to continue having a lighthearted conversation with his family. "I'm ready for this."

"We know," Grandmother answers and pats the back of his hand. She holds up her other hand to stop her parents from talking. "Now let's not stress him out by telling him things he already knows." She takes his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze before dropping it. "Stay strong, Addae, and don't ever get too comfortable in the Capitol."

When the eldest woman stands up, Ramila is quick to jump up from the couch as well. Grandmother starts walking towards the door, silently telling the rest of the family that it is time to go. Ramila quickly gives Addae another hug, making today probably the most she's ever hugged him in one day. "Remember your pinky promise, okay?"

"Of course," Addae gives her an encouraging smile when she steps back before turning his attention to their parents. "Mother, father, thank you for your training. And I love you."

"We love you too, son," his father answers and grabs his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But don't talk like we'll never see you again."

"Because we better see you again," his mother adds and her tone alone is enough to make him want to win, let alone his promise to Ramila.

"Stop coddling him, he's not a child anymore," Grandmother calls out from the doorway. This gets his parents to start leaving. But Addae can see Grandmother hesitating in the doorway and knows she has something else to say to him. Sure enough, she turns to his parents and Ramila and motions them ahead. "I'll be out in a second." They don't question her and close the door behind them. Grandmother turns around to Addae, giving him a small smile. "Addae, my boy. You have a very important mission ahead of you. But, I have one last thing to ask of you."

"Anything," Addae answers immediately, making his grandmother's smile grow.

"Try to spare a moment to help out the young girl with you," she pauses for a moment to look carefully at him. "While she cannot win if you are to return home, don't let her spend her last few days cursed."

Addae nods his head in agreement at this, even if the thought of the small girl dying for him to live is a little unsettling. But he can at least stop the curse affecting her. "I will."

His grandmother simply gives a smile in return before following after the rest of his family, leaving the door open behind her as she leaves. Through the open door he can see the strained looks between his brother and family before Sid quickly enters the room and closes the door behind him. The older man shakes his head at Addae as he walks over. "You crazy man, you actually did it!"

"Of course I did, Sid," Addae responds as his brother sits down on the couch next to him, still shaking his head at this. "After you refused, did you really think I would let Ramila do this?"

Sid purses his lips at this, still looking disappointed in Addae's decision to volunteer. But he lets out a loud sigh as he props his arm up on the back of the couch. "No…And honestly I'm glad that she's not going. She wouldn't win."

They fall into silence at that, leaving Addae to force away images of Ramila fighting in the games. No…she won't ever have to do that. "They don't hate you," he finally says, trying to break the awkward silence.

Sid scowls at this and shakes his head at Addae. "I don't believe that."

"I'm serious," Addae responds right away, earning a scoff from Sid. "You're still their son, even if you didn't want to really follow along with our beliefs."

"I do believe them," Sid says quietly, surprising Addae with his admission. "I just wasn't going to let that control my life. I wanted a normal life and a family…Something you could have had if you didn't throw your life away."

"I'm not throwing my life away," Addae responds quickly, growing defensive at his brother's acquisitions. "Look, if you came here to argue, I don't want that bad energy around-"

"I didn't come here to argue," Sid interrupts and lets out another sigh when Addae gives him a look of disbelief. "Just try not to throw your life away in that arena. I don't want to see it destroy our family."

"I'm not going to do that," Addae answers confidently and Sid stands up at this, shaking his head once more as he starts digging in his pocket. "What are you doing?"

Sid tosses a small object at him and Addae catches it easily. He inspects the small bead as Sid starts to walk towards the door. "I'm sure you already have stuff made, but I figured you could add that. At least, I hope you'll want to add it since it took me three tries to finally get the symbol right."

"Thank you," Addae says quietly as he pulls his necklace out of his shirt and unties it. He slips the good luck bead onto it before smiling up at Sid hovering near the door. "I appreciate it, more than you know."

"I hope you don't need the good luck but at least you have it, just in case," Sid gives Addae a strained smile at this, clearly bothered at the sight of his younger brother about to go to the games.

"Sid, you worry too much," Addae responds and when Sid chuckles at this, Addae finds himself grinning and almost laughing himself. "Try not to worry about me. I'm going to do this and I'll make it back home. And then, Panem is going to be a safer place."

* * *

 **Welcome back to the District Eleven intro! Big thanks to GalacticCoach for Addae, Mystical Pine Forest for Maddie (Maddelena), and SherlockedAtHeart for Amity! I hope I did them all justice! I had a lot of fun with Addae since I got to be creative with his family's voodoo (and also now have a questionable google search history lol). And Grandma is so sassy lol. We'll of course see more about Maddie in future chapters.**

 **So I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up and I know you'll all say 'life comes first, you're fine!' and I know that. But doesn't mean I won't feel bad when I can't update regularly lol. Expect this to happen again because my semester just went 0 to 100 real fast and it's going to stay that way until the semester ends.**

 **But anyways, usual stuff! What did you think? Do you think there really is some sort of curse on Panem?**

 **Alrighty I'll see you next time in District Two with Stark! And if you thought Addae and his belief in the supernatural was weird, you better buckle up because the next couple of chapters are going to be wild.**


	6. District 2: Desires

**Disclaimer: Things get a bit sexual in this chapter. There's no descriptions but it's implied, so yeah, here's your warning to not read this at work or by your parents.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District 2_

 _One and a Half Years Before The Reaping_

"Hey Stark," a voice calls out to him just after the crack of his whip, making him pause for a moment as his whip wraps around the arm of the dummy in front of him.

Stark brushes some of his hair back that's escaped his hair tie like always, ready to give a snarky remark before looking over and realizing the speaker is Bronn. Stark starts walking over to the dummy, wrapping up his whip and addressing his mentor as he goes. "Hey Bronn, what's up?"

"Do you mind staying a few extra minutes to talk to me?" Bronn asks him and at his tone, Stark stares over at him, trying to figure out what's wrong.

"Of course," he answers as he grabs his whip, nodding at Bronn but feeling a sinking feeling in his gut that whatever Bronn wants to talk about won't be good. "I'll meet you in your office in a couple minutes."

The victor grins at Stark, but the smile doesn't meet his eyes like usual. "I knew I can count on you. I'll see you soon."

Stark starts gathering his training supplies as Bronn leaves, continuously pushing back sweaty hair from his eyes. As he does, he notices a couple pairs of eyes on him. "Christina, I know you're looking for victor material but you're never going to get this," Stark gestures to his body and he flashes a smirk over at the pretty blonde sitting on the edge of the training room. The girl is a common fixture in the training center, except when Kat is around. Even if she never lifts a finger at anything, Christina is always on the lookout for the next victor

Christina rolls her eyes at this before giving him a flirty grin. But she's not the one to speak up. "Hey Stark, how about you fuck off?" Stark cocks an eyebrow at this as he glances over at Ampora as she angrily punches a bag held in front of her by her friend Cass. Stark smirks over at this, loving how easily he can get Ampora fired up. The girl lets out a cry as she slams her fist into the bag one last time before turning to face Stark, breathing heavy and making no effort to hide her anger towards him. But she spares a glance over at Christina and her gaze softens, making Stark a little disgusted at how lovesick she is. Ampora turns her attention back to Stark and attempts to point at him but with her hand covered in a boxing glove, the action makes Stark stifle a chuckle. "Christina is mine and do you really think I'm going to let you become the victor?"

"She's all yours, I don't want blind love," Stark gives a wave of his hand at the girl he'll probably compete against in the games. "Or any love for that matter. But have fun chasing her while I get the victory," he responds sarcastically as he starts backing out of the training room, watching as Ampora rips off one of her gloves just to give him a middle finger.

Stark chuckles to himself at her response as he leaves the training room. Out in the hallway to Bronn's office, he passes one of the guys in his year talking quietly to a girl Stark has seen but always gets shy around him. Faustus gives a long look at Stark's body before meeting Stark's smirk. "You know Faustus, pictures are less creepy than staring."

"Oh fuck off," Faustus responds with a laugh as he lightly shoves Stark, his hands linger for a moment longer than necessary. "You're so full of yourself."

"And you didn't deny that you think I'm attractive," Stark responds quickly and catches Faustus's face flushing slightly and the girl watches them, looking unhappy about their exchange but staying quiet. Stark turns around with a smirk on his face, continuing down the hallway, "Maybe we can finish this conversation later."

Before Faustus can respond, Stark knocks on Bronn's door and enters the room, but his smile quickly slips away when he sees Bronn's troubled face. "Hi Stark. Go ahead and close the door." Stark does as he's told and quickly slips in the seat across from Bronn, getting a terrible feeling about what he's going to say. "So, obviously we both know that you're at the top of your year and right now, lined up to volunteer when you're eighteen."

"Correct and that's thanks to your help," Stark grins at this, proud of the work he's put in. But it fades once again when Bronn doesn't even smile at his comment. "Why do I feel like you're going to tell me something bad?"

Bronn lets out a sigh as he leans back in his chair, trying to give Stark a smile. "Because I am, unfortunately. Kat is reducing the number of scholarships because there's starting to be too many people enrolling and we don't have the capabilities to train all of them. And the way she's doing that is by preventing victors from personally sponsoring students…"

Bronn lets this sink in for a few seconds and Stark can feel his throat closing in and a chill running down his spine at the realization of what that means for him. "Fuck," he mutters and shakes his head at Bronn. "There's no way my parents will ever pay for training. Fuck!" He repeats louder, refusing to lose out on training or competing in the games after he's worked so hard to get that.

"She's letting me cover the cost of your training for another six months," Bronn continues, unfazed at Stark's cursing, even if Stark tries to avoid it around him. "But after that…"

"Can I volunteer when I'm seventeen then?" Stark asks as he rests his elbow on the arm of the chair. He starts pinching the bridge of his nose as he thinks through all of his options. Fuck! How is he going to get the money?

"Unlikely that she'll let you. Clemont has been training Parrith for years and you know Kat is partial to Clemont." Bronn considers this for a moment and lets out a single laugh. "Well, she's also partial to me since I trained her. But Parrith will be eighteen. She's going to pick him as the volunteer." Bronn lets out another sigh and Stark glances up at him. "Look, I tried everything to get her to fund you for the remaining time and I'm going to keep trying. I know her and I think I might be able to convince her but I need time. But I also know you can win. So I'll do everything I can to keep helping you figure out a way to pay for the training, at least until I can convince Kat to fund you."

"I'll figure out a way to get you the money," Stark says absentmindedly as his thoughts travels to the people he trains with and an idea he's thought of before to get money to move out of his house, but never really thought about pursuing. At least, until now. He stands up, Bronn giving him a concerned look. "I'll get you the money. I'm not quitting on training so don't quit on me."

"Stark, don't do anything illegal…"

"I won't," Stark answers with a shake of his head before contemplating it for a moment. "Well, at least, I don't think it's illegal."

Stark starts to quickly leave the room and Bronn calls out to him, "Stark!"

He turns around to give Bronn a cheeky grin, one that definitely increases the concern on Bronn's face. "Don't worry. I'll get you that money before the six months are up."

But once out in the hallway and with the door shut, his anger starts to build. "Fuck," he mutters and punches the wall, immediately regretting the decision when his fist starts throbbing. "Fuck, that was dumb."

"You know, you say fuck a lot," Faustus calls out to him and Stark looks up to see him leaning against the wall, hands tucked in his pant pockets and smirking over at him.

"Have you been waiting out here for me?" Stark responds with sarcasm because even if he's fucked for the games right now, he's not going to stop being sarcastic.

"Maybe," Faustus gives a small shrug of his shoulders as Stark starts to walk over to him. Fautus's gaze changes when he sees the pissed off look in Stark's eyes. "Dude, you usually only look like that when your parents do something stupid."

Stark eyes Faustus carefully, wondering just how much he should tell him. Faustus might just be the closest thing he has to a friend in the training center and hasn't revealed any of the things Stark has told him about his parents. "I need money and we both know I'm not getting it from my parents."

Faustus raises an eyebrow at this and his expression changes as he pushes himself off the wall, taking deliberate steps towards Stark. Stark starts backing up from him, confused by why Faustus is getting so close to him. But Faustus keeps moving closer, even when Stark has nowhere left to go until their chests are nearly touching and Stark can feel Faustus's breath on his face as he looks up at him. "Perhaps I can help out," Faustus whispers, voice deep and _fuck when did Faustus get this hot?_

"How?" Stark asks quietly, feeling his heart racing at Faustus standing so close to him and a bit of sweat forming on his forehead.

Faustus plays with the neckline of Stark's shirt, his fingertips lightly brushing against Stark's collarbone and he has to bite his lip to keep from kissing Faustus right in the middle of the training center. "I think you know how. So, my place or yours?"

"Mine," Stark answers immediately before reaching out and grabbing on to Faustus's chin, forcing the shorter boy to focus on his face. He can feel Faustus shift his body closer under Stark's intense gaze before letting go and giving Faustus a shove back. "I need to shower first so be there in twenty minutes."

Stark starts to walk down the hallway, feeling unsure about this but his mood already better than when he left Bronn's office. Faustus speaks up, making Stark pause, "Well so do I so ten minutes." Stark glances back over his shoulder at this, eyebrow raised and smirk forming on his face. "Why waste the water?"

"No assholes around?" Faustus asks as he steps through the door Stark holds open, staring around at the elegant entryway.

"Thankfully no," Stark responds as he shuts the door behind them, watching Faustus as he walks forward and takes the opportunity to stare at his ass. God, he can't wait for this. "Some stupid political dinner that they would never consider inviting me to. They can't be seen out in public with their rebellious son who loves the 'barbaric' games and training. Oh and who refuses to cut his hair to a respectable length for a young man."

"How do you even put up with them?" Faustus asks as he inspects a vase sitting on one of the tables that probably cost enough to fund Stark's training. Stark shakes his head at the way his parents will spend money but turns his attention back to Faustus, the more pressing matter.

"I don't," Stark responds with a shrug of his shoulders. "But if I do, I make sure to piss them off as much as possible."

Faustus chuckles at this as he turns back and when Stark brings his gaze up to his, there's a smirk on his face that he wants to kiss right off. "You know, pictures are less creepy than staring."

Stark almost rolls his eyes at Faustus repeating what he said earlier before catching his tone. "Maybe I'll take one."

"Depends on if I let you," Faustus responds as Stark starts to walk towards him. Stark can see him flush at Stark raking his gaze over his body. But he stops when Faustus starts to reach into his pocket and tosses something at him. Stark catches it easily and flips the gold coin around in his hand. How much more will he need to pay for training? And is he really going to use sex to get it? It doesn't matter. He'll get the money until Bronn can hopefully convince Kat to fund him. And then spite his parents even more by being the volunteer next year.

Faustus starts to close the distance between them and Stark brings his gaze once again to the man in front of him. "There's more of that, if you do well-"

"Oh I will," Stark responds cockily, even if he has absolutely no clue if he'll deliver on that promise. And if he's terrible, then how will he get the money? But hell, he won't know unless he tries.

"Now," Faustus says in a deep voice before taking a step back and grinning up at Stark. "Can we seriously shower? I feel gross from training today."

Stark lets out a chuckle at this and puts a hand low on Faustus's back, starting to lead him towards the stairs to the second floor. "I agree. But I still think we don't need to waste water."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Stark pauses from buttoning up his shirt to stare over at the two lounging bodies on his bed, skin smooth and covered with a thin sheen of sweat from earlier. Avita is draped over Faustus, content smile on her face and eyes closed. Faustus watches Stark's actions, smirking a little when he catches Stark staring. "Hey Stark, you know a picture is less creepy. How about you take that as your token? I'd love to see the Capitol reacting to that."

Avita laughs lightly at this, opening up her eyes so she can stare up at Faustus. "I'd prefer to not have my naked body shown for all of Panem to see."

Stark smirks over at them, shaking his head at the ongoing joke with Faustus before continuing to button up his shirt. He leaves a couple open at the top, refusing to look that stuffy, even if he is the volunteer. "Panem will never know what they're missing out on." He pauses for a moment as he partially tucks his shirt into his black jeans, still staring at the two in front of him. He lets out a small sigh, "I might actually miss you two in the arena."

"No you won't," Faustus chuckles as he throws a pillow over at Stark that he easily avoids. "You're going to miss my ass."

"You're right," Stark answers with a casual shrug as he sticks his hands into his pockets, feeling the gold coin siting in it for his token. "It's a damn fine ass. I suppose I'll just have to wait impatiently to return and have the best victory sex ever."

"If I had a glass of champagne right now," Avita lazily says as she keeps leaning against Faustus, "I would give a toast to that."

"We'll have one when he gets home," Faustus responds to this, grinning at Stark before his smile falters. "Just make sure you get home."

"Well I'm planning on getting home," Stark answers confidently before raising an eyebrow in confusion at Faustus's expression. "Are you really concerned for me?"

"No," Faustus responds quickly with a scoff, but his face shows a hint of that being a lie. "I can't pay the rent on this apartment without you."

Stark laughs loudly at this statement as he slips on a pair of boots. "Well we won't need to afford this place when I get home because we can move into the Victor's Village." He straightens up, taking one last good look at the two in front of him and biting his lip. "This is going to be a long couple of weeks."

"Just leave already," Faustus gives a wave at him towards the door, shaking his head as he pulls Avita closer to him. "You can't be late as the volunteer."

"But you two can be late?" Stark calls over his shoulder as he starts making his way towards the door. His two friends laugh at this and he shakes his head. "When the Peacekeepers come, it won't be my fault."

"Stark, just shut up and get going already," Faustus calls after him before Stark shuts the front door of their apartment.

He squints against the harsh morning light, almost considering going back inside for a pair of sunglasses. But he chooses to start walking towards the sidewalk, joining in with others walking towards the center of town. He would rather be unable to see for the short walk than deal with Faustus taunting him for returning.

A lazy smirk falls into place on Stark's face as he walks among the lighthearted conversations surrounding him. He's all too aware of the looks he's receiving and the whispers from both men and women as he walks past them, all talking about this year's male volunteer. Well soon enough they'll be talking about him as their victor.

"Hey Stark!"

He peers over the top of his crowd, spotting quickly the man who shouted at him and is waving towards him as he weaves through the crowd, occasionally stopping to say hi to some young kids staring up in awe. Stark smiles at Bronn as he approaches, not expecting to see his mentor before the Reaping. "Hey Stark," Bronn says again as he reaches Stark, seemingly not caring about the many looks they're drawing. He gives Stark a pat on the shoulder, grinning proudly at his volunteer that he's done so much for. "I was hoping to find you before you reached the sign in area."

"Why?" Stark asks curiously, not feeling the need to be sarcastic like he is with everyone else. And how can he be that way towards the man who's dedicated so much time to him and got Kat to finish paying for his training?

Bronn starts walking in the direction he came, giving Stark a light push to walk with him. "I have someone who is insisting on meeting you today."

Stark starts to roll his eyes at this but stops immediately when he catches sight of District Two's oldest victor standing off to the side of the street, warily watching the crowd. Stark gives Sylvia a small smile which she responds to with a short nod of her head. But his attention is soon drawn to the young girl holding on to her hand and waving excitedly at Stark and Bronn. "Is that her granddaughter?"

"Yes," Bronn responds with a chuckle as they start walking towards Sylvia and the girl. "Glacia. Sweet little girl who hasn't stopped talking about you because she's excited to see who I'm mentoring since I haven't gone to the Capitol in a couple years." Bronn brings him to a stop just out of hearing from Sylvia and Glacia. The man stares up at Stark, a concerned look on his face that Stark just isn't used to seeing from people. "Are you okay with saying hi to her?"

"Of course," Stark says quietly, glancing away from Bronn as he starts to feel uncomfortable by his gaze. "You know I respect Sylvia and you. So why not say hi to her granddaughter?"

Bronn smiles appreciatively up at him before motioning for Stark to go to the pair. Stark tries to smile at the young girl, forcing himself to not immediately cringe at children like he usually does. As he reaches the pair, Glacia stops waving and partially hides behind her grandmother. "Hello Stark," Sylvia says, face weary and showing the toll she still feels after all these years. "This is Glacia, my granddaughter."

"Hi there," he says quietly to the girl staring up at him with wide ice blue eyes. He crouches down so that he's no longer towering above the small girl and now closer to her height. "Nice to meet you."

Glacia steps out from behind her grandmother, starting to smile at him. "Hi…Bronn said that you're going to be the victor!"

Stark chuckles at this, glancing up at his mentor to see the man give him a small shrug but make no effort to deny it. "I'm planning on it," he says as he looks back down at the girl starting to become less shy.

Glacia nods her head at this before grinning up at him. "Then you'll be our neighbor!" She glances around at the crowd passing them before tugging on Sylvia's hand as Stark hears a familiar girl talking. "Grandma! There's Ampora! Can we go talk to her?"

"Yes, Glacia," Sylvia answers with a sigh as she lets her granddaughter start to drag her through the crowd. She turns back to give a hesitant smile at Stark. "Thank you."

Stark nods his head at her as he stands back up, feeling uneasy about her gratitude, so he turns his attention back to Bronn who smiles admiringly at him. "Thanks for that. She might not have said it, but you just made Glacia's day. But I should probably let you get going," Bronn lets out a sigh before smiling at Stark once more. "I'll see you on the train."

Stark nods at this and watches Bronn follow after Sylvia, scowling a little at the sight of Ampora following after Christina, blind look of love on her face.

He shakes his head, focusing on his excitement at volunteering and not the uneasy feeling left in him from Bronn and Sylvia being grateful for something he did.

"Hey Stark," a sleazy voice calls to him and he rolls his eyes before turning to face Nero, the poor excuse of a man who Stark easily beat out to be the volunteer. "Getting some last minute advice from Sylvia on how to go insane after winning?"

"No, fucker," Stark responds with a smirk as he starts walking towards the city center again, knowing Nero will follow after him. Sure enough, he can hear the man cursing under his breath at him so he turns around to face Nero. When he sees the stupid look on Nero's face at him insulting Sylvia, anger starts to course through him. The damn coward has no right to insult one of their victors like that. "I was just getting some last minute advice on how to kick your ass."

Like always, Nero is too slow to dodge Stark punching him in the face. Stark leaves him behind, groaning and clutching his nose. He rubs his hand a little before sticking it in his pocket, smirking even more at Nero yelling after him, "I hope Ampora kicks your ass in that arena!"

Usually Stark wouldn't waste his time responding to Nero, but he's in a good mood today with the Reaping about to start. He pauses to glance over his shoulder, chuckling when he sees that Nero's nose is bleeding. "Unlikely. But don't worry, I'll still kick your ass as a victor."

* * *

 _Antigone Meriol, Escort for District Two_

What a beautiful day to be out in District Two. Antigone has been looking forward to this day all year, anxious to get back to District Two.

But not for the Reaping.

It's kind of boring the lack of suspense with the Reaping in District Two. It would almost be nice sometimes to actually have a say in what happens. No, Antigone is happy to be back in District Two so that she can get to do some bird watching and with the beautiful weather, the birds are all out today. And she feels confident that this year she'll get a victor and be able to go on a bird watching tour – well, victory tour – of Panem.

Antigone feels powerful today, just like the tributes she is expecting to volunteer. As she steps out on the stage, she grins and waves out at the cheering crowd, the feathers on her outfit lightly blowing in the wind. "Hello District Two!" She says once they quiet down, just for them to start cheering once more in excitement for the games. "What a lovely day we're having today! Now, can anyone guess what type of bird I'm dressed as today?"

Antigone holds out one of the brown wings, letting the crowd get a good look at her brown bodice and flowing white skirt, completely covered in feathers of course. The crowd starts to mutter a bit, no one yelling out an answer yet. "Come on, don't be scared to give an answer! Mayor? Victors?" She asks as she turns to look at those sitting on the stage behind her. Of the assembled victors, only Clemont looks willing to go along with her, but even he gives her a shrug. Antigone turns back to the crowd, putting her hands on her hips. "Alright, I'll give you guys a hint! This bird can be seen right here in District Two!"

This finally gets some of the kids in the crowd to respond, mostly those from the front sections who have known her for several years.

"A falcon!"

"A hawk!"

"A swallow!"

"A flamingo!"

"No!" Antigone shouts at that last one, in disbelief that someone would actually guess she's a flamingo! A few kids in the crowd laugh at this and Antigone purses her lips, not amused by them shouting that answer. "I am a bald eagle, of course! You can tell by the white skirt and brown wings…" When the crowd still doesn't seem to recognize her appearance, she lets out a sigh and shakes her head. "I knew I should have dyed my hair white blonde to match…Well, no matter, now you know! And did you know that bald eagles are one of the largest raptors in the world and have a wing span of two meters? They're quite impressive birds, really, beautiful birds. You're quite lucky to have them located right here in your home! They can even fly at speeds rivaling some of our motorized bikes!"

Someone clears their throat behind Antigone on the stage. The escort turns around, smiling at the thought of the bald eagles in the District. "Antigone?" The mayor speaks up, giving her a small smile. "The Reaping?" She gestures out to the crowd gathered in front of them.

"Oh, right!" Antigone responds and chuckles lightly as she turns back to face the crowd. "Sorry about that, I just get so excited talking about birds! But yes, let's get started! We'll start with our fierce female tribute!"

Antigone wastes no time in moving towards the glass sphere on her left and picking out one of the first pieces of paper she touches. And why should she waste her time with this part? It's not like the girl will actually be in the games. "And our female tribute," she pauses to clear her throat and cover up a scoff at this being untrue, "Excuse me. Our female tribute is Marcella Cicero."

The girl quickly steps out from the second closest section, smile on her face as she walks to the stage. But there's no fear in her eyes so Antigone doesn't doubt a volunteer will step forward. The escort motions for the girl to get up onto the stage, ready to get to the volunteer. "Hello dear, and how are you today?"

"Just wonderful," the girl responds cheerfully to Antigone, only looking slightly uneasy by the escort's sharp green eyes. "And I knew your outfit was an eagle."

"Oh you should have spoken up!" Antigone responds, so excited that someone recognized the bird. But before she can keep talking about the birds, the mayor clears her throat once more and Antigone focuses back on the matter at hand. "While I would love to keep talking to you about bald eagles and all birds, I must ask. Are there any volunteers?"

"I volunteer!" A strong voice calls out from the front of the crowd and Marcella quickly makes her way off the stage. Shortly after, a very tall girl steps out, long brown hair pulled back neatly, and wearing a lovely but simple tight fitting dress that shows off her muscular frame. She's rather pretty, someone Antigone would expect to see in One, rather than Two. Once on the stage, she stands taller than Antigone, a rather impressive thing, and grabs ahold of the microphone. "I'm Ampora Erikson and I'm going to be your next victor!" She points over to someone in the side sections, grinning at this person. "I'm gonna be your victor, Christina!"

The crowd responds loudly to her declaration, like they do most years. Antigone has to admire their dedication and love of the games. And if they're love gets a victor and Antigone on a victory tour, she can't complain. "Welcome, Ampora! I'm sure you're going to do excellent!" Antigone lets the crowd cheer at this statement as she smiles out at them. "Now, how about we see who will be joining Ampora?"

The crowd watches her in anticipation as she moves to the right side of the stage and the other glass ball. Once more, she doesn't waste time in selecting the slip of paper and returning to the microphone. "Okay, our male tribute is going to be Mr. Felix Quintus!"

This time, the boy steps out from the very back of the crowd, face showing a bit of hesitation as he walks towards the stage. Antigone gives him an encouraging smile, getting him to walk faster. "It's quite alright, Felix. I promise I'm not mean like the bird of prey I'm dressed as!"

A few people chuckle at this as Felix gets up the steps to the stairs. Antigone places a comforting hand on his shoulder as he stares up at Ampora in awe and a little fear. "Alright, will we have a second volunteer today?"

A few seconds pass, almost making Antigone start to be worried that there won't be a volunteer, before a deep voice calls out. "I volunteer!" At this, Felix races off the stage, appearing just a bit relieved at the volunteer.

The man that steps out of the front section is not what Antigone expected to see from District Two. Tall, lean figure, dark shoulder length hair, and as he gets up to the stage, she notices piercing blue eyes. Oh and don't forget about the smirk on his face as he approaches Antigone. "Stark Calloway," he says to her, nothing more.

And yet, the crowd cheers loudly once again for their volunteered tribute, even if he doesn't resemble the typical hulking men that step forward in District Two.

"Okay District Two!" Antigone says happily as she glances between her two volunteers. They're certainly different from what she expected but she doesn't think that's a bad thing at all. "We have our two tributes. Ampora Erikson and Stark Calloway!"

Antigone steps back and watches the two shake hands, both looking unhappy about the other but willing to cooperate. But the look tough and prepared.

 _Maybe Antigone will get her trip around Panem to see the birds this year._

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

The first people to enter the room are a surprise to Stark and he rolls his eyes right away at the looks of judgement already on the faces of his parents. "If you're going to give me the same 'we're disappointed in you' speech, why did you even bother coming to say goodbye?"

His mother shakes her head at him as she approaches, nose turning up at his appearance. Stark props his feet up on the table in front of him, taking enjoyment from the look of disgust on his mother's face at the action. "Stark, how have you not yet realized how much you're ruining your life with training for the games? And get your feet off the table, people use this room for meetings!"

"I'm good," Stark responds with a shrug and his mother crosses her arms at him. "And just ask the crowd out there if they think I'm making a mistake. I'm making a lot better of a decision by volunteering than to follow in your footsteps."

"Korrina," his father warns as he puts a hand on his wife's shoulder. She lets out a huff and shakes her head, but keeps quiet. Stark almost laughs at her reaction before turning his attention to his father's perpetual disappointed face. "Stark, we didn't come here to argue with you."

"I find that hard to believe," Stark looks between his parents and shakes his head at their prim appearances. "Almost all of our conversations end in arguing. That's why I moved out."

"He's serious, Stark," his mother speaks up, still a look of judgment on her face as she watches Stark. "Unlike you with thinking about your future, but like he said, we didn't come here to argue."

"Then why the fuck are you here?" Stark lets out a sigh of annoyance, feeling his great mood from volunteering slipping away with each second he has to look at his parents.

"Stark," his mother cautions at his swearing, just like always. Yet a firm look from his father stops her from saying anymore. Whatever they came here for must be important if they're trying not to anger him.

Stark raises an eyebrow at them expectantly, waiting for them to just tell him already so they can leave. His father finally clears his throat, sharing a look with his mother before turning his gaze to Stark. "We came here to tell you to make sure you win."

Well that is not what Stark expected to hear from them. "Really? Years of discouraging me to volunteer and this is what you say?"

"Well," his mother starts, tone dripping with fake happiness. "People have started to associate us with you and it's actually helping us a lot within the political circles-"

"Let me be very clear," Stark says coolly as he stands up, towering over his parents as anger starts to build within him that they think they can use the one thing he's good at for their own benefit. "I am _not_ volunteering for you and there is _no_ fucking chance I'm going to let you use me to advance your own stupid political agenda. Now leave."

"Stark-" his father tries to speak up.

"Leave!" Stark points over at the door yet they still stare at him, faces now showing shock instead of disappointment. When they make no effort to move, he shakes his head at them. "If you don't move in three seconds, I'll call the Peacekeepers in here to drag you out and I guarantee, that will ruin your appearances."

That gets them moving and they head towards the door, his mother muttering about him and his father using a hand on her back to guide her. His mother pauses at the doorway to look back at him, almost looking like she wants to say something and Stark starts smirking at the possibility of calling Peacekeepers on her. But she chooses wisely and they leave without saying anything else to him.

"What a bunch of fucking assholes," Stark mutters to himself as he sits back down, shaking his head in disbelief at them. He's known they'll do what it takes to get his father elected as mayor but damn, he did not they would actually use him after years of refusing to acknowledge his training. The disbelief quickly turns to anger at them ruining what is supposed to be an exciting day for him. He'll find a way to ruin them, just to spite them like always. Maybe he can tell something embarrassing during his interview. If losing didn't mean dying, he almost would consider it because how embarrassing to have your trained son not win?

"That's a terrible idea," he shakes his head at that thought. He absolutely is not going to lose these games. No fucking way.

"Who are you talking to?" Faustus laughs at him as Stark looks up, so deep in his anger that he didn't even realize Faustus and Avita entering the room.

"Myself," Stark answers and at the amused look on Faustus's face, he knows that sounds absurd. "Look, I just had to deal with my annoying parents still trying to use me to their advantage."

"We know," Avita speaks up and Stark gives her a look of surprise as she sits down on the couch next to him. "They were all flustered in the hallway and desperately trying to make sure they looked good before anyone saw them. It was actually a little amusing."

"Not just a little," Faustus adds, pausing to laugh as he sits on the armrest of the couch. "It was very amusing." Stark tries to picture this sight and almost starts smiling, but he's too full of anger still. "Dude, stop thinking about them. Fuck 'em! You're going into the games and you're going to kick ass and be the hottest tribute there, and then become the hottest victor."

Stark nods his head at this, taking a couple deep breaths to get rid of his anger, or at least push it aside for now. "You're right. I'm going to be the hottest tribute there and all of the sponsors will basically be throwing their money at me."

"Atta boy," Faustus gives him a couple pats on his back, grinning at the man. "Just be your cocky and confident self and you'll have no problem."

"Just try not to piss off Ampora too much," Avita adds quietly and Stark gives her a bewildered look at this. "Don't forget that she has trained just as much as you. She's reckless and driven by emotions so don't ever doubt that she's going to do whatever it takes to win and get home to Christina."

Stark shakes his head at this before shrugging at the two, really not concerned about Ampora. Sure, the girl is determined. But so is Stark. "Well I'm not going to let her win. And at least I'm not blinded by love."

"You mean you don't love us both?" Faustus says with a gasp, voice dripping in sarcasm. He puts a hand over his heart, pretending to be devastated by this revelation. "Stark! I thought what we had was real!"

"Oh please," Stark responds sarcastically and gives Faustus a shove, knocking him off the arm of the chair as Avita laughs loudly at them. "The only love I have for you is my love of your ass."

Faustus chuckles at this as he picks himself up from the ground. He shakes his head at Stark, playful smile on his face. "I'm okay with that."

"Good," Stark responds with a flirtatious smirk. "Now how about you give me one last good view of that ass as you leave?"

"Of course," Faustus answers him, motioning for Avita to come with him. The girl gives Stark a small smile, apparently the only serious one right now. "Just remember what we talked about earlier. I can't pay for that apartment on my own!"

"Avita can take my spot," Stark responds with a casual wave of his hand, noticing the faint flush forming on Avita's face at this suggestion. He smirks and winks over at her, making the flush deepen. But he keeps quiet about her tiny crush on Faustus. "But I'll be back."

"You better be," Faustus warns as they start walking over to the door, Stark taking the time to stare at Faustus like he said he would.

Avita pauses in the door to look back at Stark, face full of unnecessary concern for him. "Good luck, Stark."

Stark shakes his head at this as Faustus goes to close the door behind them. He gives them one last smirk and calls out to them, "I don't need luck!"

Once the door is shut and Stark is left alone, he gets up and starts pacing around the room, looking at the portraits of victors hanging and knowing no one else will be coming to see him. He sticks his hands into his pockets as he stares at a portrait of Bronn just after his victory. He pulls out the gold coin in his pocket, turning it around in his hands before turning his attention back to the picture of Bronn. That coin was the first piece of money he got from Faustus, a sign of him doing whatever it takes to become the volunteer. In the end, Bronn had gotten him that scholarship and Stark was able to use the money from sex for an apartment, but still, it's a reminder of what he's willing to do. Anything.

"Bronn, I'm going to become the victor. Just wait and see."

* * *

 **And we have our District Two tributes! Big thank you to AmericanPi for Ampora and Winter's Writing for Antigone! I hope I did a good job with them and we'll definitely be seeing more of them soon! And Stark is the first of my five tributes :D I've been excited to write him since I came up with him because I love my District Two boys (and girls...tbh I just love District Two). And I love making D2 tributes that are not the typical brutes. So I came up with Stark who is anything but a brute and likes to use sex to buy nice things lol.**

 **As always, I'd love to hear what you think! What do you think about Stark and Ampora? Do you think they have what it takes to win?**

 **I'm going to start a Random Question for each chapter that if you answer, you'll get bonus sponsor points! And yes, these points can also be used for Overlooked.**

 **Random Question #1: What bird should Antigone dress up as next?**

 **Alrighty, next up is District Ten! Yes David, you finally get to see Jinx. As for everyone else, brace yourself because we're getting even crazier with this story!**


	7. District 10: Paranoia

**Chapter 4:**

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District 10_

 _One week before the Reaping_

Jinx watches her teacher pace around behind her desk, face starting to show more and more exasperation the longer the phone conversation goes on. Jinx can occasionally hear her father yelling on the other end, each time making her giggle and keep smiling. Of course, her father wasn't going to let her teacher get Jinx in trouble.

And it's not her fault that Dani didn't give Jinx back _her_ pencil when she asked for it.

Jinx taps her foot as her teacher sits back at her desk, sighing loudly. "Yes, Mr. Holiday. I will let her know." She slams her phone down and stares at it for a few moments before pinching the bridge of her nose. Jinx giggles loudly at her reaction to her father, drawing her teacher's attention to her. "Jinx, you can go to lunch now."

"What did my father say?" Jinx asks, smiling up at her teacher and laughing a little as she stands up from her chair across from her teacher.

Her teacher sighs once more and leans back in her chair, staring at Jinx for a minute and seemingly trying to compose herself. "The usual. He would revoke his monetary donations to the school if anything happened to you. Oh and that he would sue me if I do anything to stop your education."

"Good," Jinx jumps up from her chair, grinning at her teacher. She moves to the other side of the desk, giggling at the slight worry in her eyes. "He won't let anything happen to me." Her teacher's eyes start to widen as Jinx gets closer, only making Jinx smile even more. "But neither will I."

With that, Jinx practically skips out of the room, only to run right into someone. "Whoops, sorry!"

The man she ran into laughs at this as he reaches out to steady Jinx as she gets slightly off balanced from running into him. "Nothing wrong with being happy and skipping. But maybe it's best to check around corners first?"

Jinx giggles at the man's comment as she takes a step back once she has regained her balance. "Yes, you're right – oh!" She pauses once she can stare up at the man, surprised to see that she recognizes him. His eyes crinkle at this realization on her face as he holds up a finger to his mouth to stay quiet.

"Can you keep a secret…"

"Jinx," the girl offers as she giggles at running into Johan Bonavento in her school of all places.

"Jinx," Johan repeats, appearing to take a moment to remember her name. "Yes, Jinx, can you keep a secret about me being here today?"

"Why does that need to be secret?"

Johan smiles down at her at this, making Jinx giggle once more. "Because I'd like to keep it a secret that I'm here to have lunch with Elaine, at least for now."

"Elaine…?" Jinx questions, turning back to look into the classroom that she just left. Her teacher is staring at her, concerned expression on her face as to who Jinx is talking to. And when Jinx turns back to Johan, she can't help the loud laugh that escapes. "Wait, Miss Mikhos?"

"Yes, Jinx," Johan says quietly, starting to crouch down as he notices Jinx straining to stare up at his tall frame. "I would very much appreciate it. Now, aren't you missing your lunch time?"

At this reminder, Jinx lights up in excitement over who is waiting for her in the cafeteria. "I am. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret safe, Mr. Johan," Jinx starts to back away in the direction of the cafeteria, giggling as she waves back at Johan. The man watches her for a moment before smiling at her and returning the wave, then entering the classroom she just left.

Jinx continues her laughter as she turns around, resuming her skipping down the empty hall towards the lunch room, the sound of students talking growing louder. She can't wait to get to the cafeteria so that she can tell Sally about seeing Johan, District Ten's youngest victor, in their school of all places.

At the entrance to the cafeteria, Jinx comes to a stop and starts searching around the room. At one point, Dani makes eye contact with her and when Jinx gives her a wave and a giggle, Dani quickly turns her head down, staring intently at her sandwich. No, she won't ever make the mistake of not returning Jinx's pencil again. Once Jinx finally finds her only friend, Jinx grins and starts to giggle about Sally sitting there, looking happy as she eats her lunch. But she stops when she sees the boy sitting across from Sally and making Sally laugh.

Jinx makes her way around the tables, coming to a stop next to Sally. It takes her a couple seconds to look up but when she does, she grins up at Jinx. "Hi Jinx! Did the conversation with the teacher go alright?"

"Of course," Jinx giggles at Sally, heart starting to race at the way Sally is looking up at her. "The teacher called my father and suddenly it wasn't a problem! Who is this?"

Sally looks over at the boy, Jinx watching as her face flushes slightly. "This is Galvin."

Jinx turns her gaze over to Galvin, giggling as he stares up at her. "I was… uh…leaving. I'll talk to you later, Sally?"

"Sure," Sally answers happily as Galvin gets up from his seat, quickly leaving the table. Jinx takes his seat across from Sally as her friend lets out a happy sigh. "Oh Jinx, isn't he cute?"

"Not really at all," Jinx gives a shrug at this and giggles at Sally.

"I think he is," Sally says and Jinx watches as Sally's eyes follow someone – surely not Galvin? – before turning back to the girl sitting across from her. "Jinx, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Jinx responds right away, giving Sally a nervous giggle as her smile falters only for a second. Sally is giving her an odd look and Jinx can feel her cheeks flushing.

Sally lets out a dreamy sigh, "I think I like him."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Sally asks, confusion spreading over her face as Jinx giggles. "Why do I like him?"

"Yes," Jinx laughs at this, trying to fight the pit forming in her stomach that she doesn't know how to stop.

Sally shrugs at this and gives Jinx a small smile. "I don't know. He's just cute." Jinx stands up suddenly, her chair scrapping loudly across the floor. Sally stares up at her before her eyes glance away for a moment. When they return to Jinx, her eyes are full of concern. "Jinx…what are you doing?"

"Going to buy some lunch," Jinx answers with a giggle. "What did you think I would do?"

"Okay," Sally says carefully before smiling at her friend. "You should talk to Galvin. He's a nice guy and I…think it would be nice for the three of us to be friends."

Jinx grins down at her friend, willing to do anything Sally asks. Anything for her friend. "Of course I'll talk to him. But first I need to tell you about who I just ran into."

* * *

The street is almost completely clear of people, students already having reached their home and adults still at work for the day. But one boy keeps on walking ahead of Jinx, happily walking and unaware of her. She nearly giggles at the thought of him not knowing she's there, but stops before he can hear her. That would ruin the surprise of her coming back to see him.

Jinx had returned to the school after walking the extra mile to Sally's house and stopping home herself, knowing the person she now follows would be leaving later than others. But as he reaches the edge of one of the abandoned buildings on the outskirts of town, Jinx lets out a giggle and runs to catch up to him. "Hi Galvin!"

He stops to turn back at the sound of his name and gives a nervous wave when he sees Jinx approaching. "Oh, um, hi Jinx. I thought you left earlier with Sally?"

"I did," Jinx responds, giggling at the mention of Sally's name before feeling a pit in her stomach that he knew that she would be leaving with Sally. "I walk home with her every day."

"She talked about you today and how you're very close friends," Galvin says quietly as he keeps walking, sparing a small glance over at Jinx as she watches him, her smile only faltering slightly at the reminder that he was talking to Sally. "She's a really nice girl," Galvin gets a cheeky grin on his face at this and his cheeks start to get a hint of pink, making Jinx's stomach drop in worry that he actually returns Sally's feelings and she's going to lose her best friend. She can't lose Sally. Sally is the only person she has who understands her.

"Stay away from her," Jinx suddenly reaches into her pocket, giggling as she pulls out the knife she grabbed from home and holds it between them. Galvin's eyes widen in fear at the sight of the knife and he takes a step back, only for Jinx to take a step closer to him, all the while keeping the smile on her face. "Sally is mine and you're not going to take my best friend away from me."

"What is wrong with you?" Galvin keeps taking steps back from Jinx, eyes wide in fear as he watches the knife between them. His back hits the wall of one of the buildings and his gaze turns up to Jinx as she starts to giggle at him having nowhere to go. Galvin stares at Jinx for a moment, starting to breath heavy as he tries to press himself closer to the side of the building. "You're crazy!"

"No, I'm not! Sally always tells me that I'm good and not crazy!" Jinx answers, holding up the knife closer to his stomach and using it to point at him. His eyes following the small thin blade and Jinx can see him start to shake in fear. "Just stay away from Sally. She doesn't like you."

"I'm going to tell her that you threatened me," Galvin boldly says and Jinx presses the knife against his stomach, causing him to let out a small sound of fear as she nervously giggles at the thought of Sally finding out what she's doing right now. Sally can't know or she'll be so mad at Jinx and won't talk to her.

"Don't you dare tell her!" Jinx's voice starts to raise in panic at Sally finding out and leaving Jinx. She can't lose Sally, the only person who understands her and is her best friend. "I can't lose Sally!"

"Help!" Galvin yells out and Jinx starts to panic that someone will walk by and see her threatening him. Or worse, Sally will find out.

"Stop that!" Jinx shouts at him and with only the panic running through her at Sally finding out, she steps forward, pressing the knife into his stomach. Galvin lets out a gasp of pain and Jinx quickly steps back as he clutches his stomach, blood starting to slip through his fingers. Jinx drops the knife, giggling as she watches Galvin drop to the ground, worry starting to fill her. Not about hurting Galvin. The boy deserved it for not listening to her telling him to stay away from Sally. No, what she worries about is Sally finding out that she injured her crush. "Stay away from Sally!"

Jinx quickly runs away from him, not wanting to stick around in case he does yell and someone hears him. But as she gets closer to her house, she glances down at her hand and lets out a nervous giggle at her red-stained hand. When she looks back up, she quickly tucks it into her pocket as she spots a couple Peacekeepers walking in her direction. She slows down her pace, grinning anxiously at them as she waits for them to stop her, accusing her of stabbing Galvin.

She comes to a stop and steps off to the side of the road as they approach, heart racing as she waits for them to stop her. Galvin must have already told someone and they're coming to find her and she's going to be arrested and take her away from Sally-

Yet they keep walking past, barely sparing her a second glance. Jinx lets out a nervous giggle as she resumes walking to her house, glancing back at the Peacekeepers to make sure they aren't going to turn around and say something to her.

But why would they? She didn't mean to do it and only wanted to stop Galvin from talking to Sally. Surely they won't arrest a kid for that, right?

Jinx makes it to her house without seeing any other Peacekeepers, but that didn't stop her from looking around, paranoid and waiting for someone to say something to her. But once the door is shut behind her, she leans against it and lets out a giggle of relief that no one accused her of hurting Galvin. Clearly she doesn't need to worry about it.

And at least Galvin will get the hint and stop talking to Sally.

* * *

A knock on the door surprises Jinx as she hadn't expected anyone to stop by since it was Saturday morning and her father won't be home from his business trip for a few more days. But as she gets up to answer it as the knocks grow more frequent, she starts to panic that Galvin told the Peacekeepers about what she did.

Yet when she looks out the window next to the door, she starts giggling in excitement and throws open the door, heart racing in happiness at seeing Sally standing there. "Hi Sally!" But Sally doesn't fully smile at Jinx's excitement, unlike every other time she sees Jinx, making the girl's smile falter and a nervous giggle escapes her. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Jinx…" Sally lets out a sigh and leans against the door frame, only causing Jinx to be further concerned for her friend. "You didn't see Galvin yesterday after school, did you?"

Jinx lets out a nervous giggle at this, paranoia creeping in once more that Galvin told Sally what she did yesterday. "I went home after I left you." Jinx lets out a paranoid laugh that Sally will be able to tell Jinx isn't telling the full truth, but at least she isn't lying.

Sally frowns at this statement and Jinx's smile drops slightly as she starts to wonder what she can do to cheer Sally up. "The Peacekeepers found him yesterday evening after his parents called them because he didn't come home." Jinx can feel her smile becoming strained at this and she can barely focus on what Sally says next as her heart starts pounding in fear. "They found his body and no one knows what happened. Jinx? Are you okay?"

Jinx shakes her head at this, not having noticed Sally staring at her in concern. She laughs nervously, something Sally doesn't question after years of being Jinx's friend. "I'm just surprised by that."

Sally's eyes start to become glossy as she shakes her head before staring down at the ground. "I don't know what happened but I feel so bad for him," she pauses and Jinx can't help but feel a brief moment of jealousy pass through her that Sally is so concerned about Galvin, but it quickly passes when Jinx realizes she won't have to worry about Galvin taking Sally away from her. But the laugh of happiness that is about to slip out is stopped when Sally turns her eyes back towards her. "The Peacekeepers are actively searching for the murderer." Sally shakes her head, this time her eyes full of anger. "I hope they find whoever did this."

At that, Jinx can feel her heart plummet. Sally is upset and angry, and it's all Jinx's fault. "I'll help you find them," Jinx blurts out, wanting to see Sally smile once more. And when she does, Jinx grins at her friend and her stomach twists in happiness, before realizing what she just said.

"Thank you, Jinx," Sally reaches out and hugs her, shocking Jinx for a moment before she returns the hug with a nervous laugh, but it's a happy nervous laugh for once. When Sally steps back, her face is full of determination. "You're a good person. I think we can help them figure out who murdered Galvin. I'm going to talk to some of our classmates to see if they know where he went after school, do you want to come with me?"

"After I finish breakfast," Jinx responds, searching for a better excuse to give. But when Sally looks disappointed at this, she forgets about coming up with an excuse. "But I'll find you once I'm done."

Sally smiles at this, but it doesn't fully reach her eyes. "Okay, I'll see you soon."

Jinx watches her walk down the porch steps, waiting until she's in the driveway before closing the door. Once she does, the panic starts to set in once more, ten times worse than it was before Sally stopped by. She never meant to kill Galvin. All she wanted to do was scare him away from Sally. And now, they're looking for her. Sally is looking for her.

She starts breathing heavy as she locks the door, expecting the Peacekeepers to come knocking at any moment and take her away. She's a murderer… but she didn't mean to do it! Surely they'll understand that, but that's if they find out. She can't let that happen. If she goes to jail, Sally will be so disappointed in her and she won't get to see her.

But she has to go help Sally search today. She was so happy when Jinx offered to help and she can't let Sally down.

Jinx lets out a nervous laugh at what she has to do today. She just has to convince Sally that she wasn't the one who murdered Galvin…

How is she going to manage to do that?

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Too many people looking at her, staring at her, all seeming to see through her. _Murderer_ , she can almost hear them whispering as she makes her way through the crowd of people, moving closer and closer to the town square for the Reaping.

It's almost a matter of time until they figure out that it was Jinx who murdered Galvin. His family has vowed to not stop until the person gets their justice. The Peacekeepers have been actively questioning people in the area and have started to talk to her classmates. How long until they reach Jinx? And does she have any hope of keeping her secret or will the pressure just cause her to burst?

She lets out a nervous laugh as she sees the lines for the Reaping come into view, along with the Peacekeepers to sign her in. But as she gets closer, she freezes in place, making someone walk right into her. They take her DNA at the table. She left the knife behind when she ran away from Galvin. Her heart almost stops and she can feel her cheeks starting to hurt from the smile she can't remove. They're going to know it's her. As soon as they prick her finger, they're going to lock her up forever and she'll never get to see Sally again.

"Are you okay?" A voice asks from behind her, shocking Jinx and making her laugh in panic as she turns to face the person. The boy stares down at her, blue eyes full of concern for her, at least from what she can see behind messy hair. He gives her a relaxed smile, that Jinx doesn't know how to respond to other than by giggling. "Probably a dumb question to ask on the day of the Reaping. But hey, you look young. I'm sure you're going to be okay."

"I don't think I will be," Jinx responds, still giving him a forced smile and a small laugh.

"Nonsense," the boy responds and motions towards the check in stations. "Do you have anyone to stand with?"

Jinx shrugs as she looks around before quickly turning her attention back to the boy when she sees a Peacekeeper looking in her direction. "I don't know where my friend Sally is."

"Then I'll stick with you until we can find her," the boy puts a hand gently on Jinx's shoulder, starting to guide her closer to the Peacekeepers and the discovery that she's a murderer, only making her breath harder. But the boy doesn't seem to notice this and keeps smiling at her, "I'm Beau, by the way. So how old are you? Fourteen?"

"Thirteen," Jinx answers with a giggle as they get into the line, her paranoia making her stomach turn, making her start to question if she's going to throw up her breakfast all over Beau's nice shoes.

"There ya go, your name is barely in the bowl!" Beau continues, seemingly unaware of Jinx's internal panic as the line moves quickly forward. "You're going to be just fine."

 _Only five more people._ Five more people until they find out she killed Galvin and lock her up in jail, or worse, they think she's crazy for being thirteen and having killed someone.

Beau keeps on talking to her, yet Jinx can barely hear anything over the blood pounding in her ears as she watches the line shorten, one by one, until only one person stands between her and the Peacekeeper keeping track of everyone.

The Peacekeeper looks up, motioning Jinx forward with their hand. "Next," they call out and Jinx's feet are sluggish as she inches forward, hand shaking as she holds it out in front of her. The Peacekeeper grabs her hand, pulling her forward slightly. She anxiously watches as her finger is pricked, making her giggle at the pain, waiting and waiting as the device analyzes her blood, surely finding a match in their system to fingerprints on the knife left behind at the crime scene with the murdered boy. "Jinx Holiday?"

"Yes," she answers quietly before giggling loudly and looking around, expecting the Peacekeepers standing nearby to step in and arrest her, drag her in front of the entire District, and announce that they found the murderer. And then Sally will find out and hate her and-

"Go ahead."

Jinx stares down at the Peacekeeper in shock for a moment, not quite believing that she isn't being arrested. The Peacekeeper motions her along and Jinx moves forward without thinking, still looking around and waiting for them to stop her. Beau falls into place next to her once more, eyes scanning the crowd before turning back to Jinx, still seemingly unaware of why she's so nervous. "I hate that part so much," he shakes his head at this, returning to looking at the crowd as they start making their way past the youngest kids. "Needles. Not a big fan. Oh, this is your section, right? Well, best of luck. I'm sure you're going to be okay," Beau gives her a hearty pat on the shoulder before disappearing among the other people making their way to the sections closer to the stage.

Jinx takes a quick glance over to the girls, recognizing a few from her class. But she starts nervously laughing when she looks at a Peacekeeper staring directly at her. _He knows. He knows and he's going to walk right over and arrest me and I'm going to go to jail and Sally will hate me-_

"Jinx!" A voice calls out, making her start giggling anxiously before recognizing that voice. Sally approaches her, giving her a smile before her face turns to concern. "Are you alright? I thought you liked watching the games and think they're fun to watch."

"I'm just a little nervous," Jinx answers with a nervous laugh, further proving her point. Now that she's surrounded by Peacekeepers, she can't help the overwhelming sense of paranoia that she's going to be arrested any moment now.

"Well, I don't think we're going to get picked this year," Sally pauses for a moment to stare at Jinx, just making the girl even more nervous that she's going to figure it out and hate Jinx for what she did. "Come on, we should get into place before they get mad at us."

* * *

 _Alphys Chen, Escort for District Ten_

As Alphys hears the light applause given by the crowd as the mayor finishes up their speech – purely out of obligation and not out of excitement for this event – she can't help but start to anxiously adjust her lab coat. The sleeves are a little tight on her arms this year, further adding to her lack of confidence that being an escort was supposed to help her fix. Next year she'll start working out before the Reaping so her sleeves fit nicely and she'll look fit like cuter and thinner like Mari.

 _No, stop thinking like that. You're fine the way you are._

Yet as the mayor welcomes her, she still can't help the small bundles of nerves in her stomach. She pushes her glasses further up her nose before reaching into her pockets for this year's demonstration. While the display of magnets had gotten a decent response from the District, it didn't respond well with the Capitol. But this year, she thinks her experiment will get a good reaction, or at least, that's what Frisk claims. If she can get even one kid to forget their nervousness for a second or want to explore science, then it will be worth it.

So when the doors open on the Justice Building, the crowd doesn't see Alphys right away and instead sees a small cloud of fog that goes through a color change from red to blue, before drifting away and revealing Alphys. She anxiously waits for the crowd's response, hoping it will be good as she had spent two months working on that experiment.

The crowd gives a surprising amount of applause, even a couple of the young kids in the back giving small cheers of excitement. A nervous smile starts to form on Alphys' face as she steps out onto the stage, trying to straighten up when she catches a glimpse of herself on the screens at the edges of the square, just hearing already how some of the other escorts will critique her terrible posture. She clears her throat when she reaches the microphone, her throat feeling dry at her nerves from all the eyes staring up at her. "Uh…hello everyone. Thank you for your warm welcome. As you may know, I'm Alphys Chen, a scientist and also your escort once more." Alphys stares out at them for a moment, smile faltering as they stare up at her, faces etched with nerves. "Well, should we get started?"

Alphys lets out a small sigh before making her way over to the glass bowl to her left, her new black boots squeaking at an uncomfortable volume as she walks across the stage and only adding to her anxiousness from the attention. She hesitates for a moment at the bowl, hand hovering above the slips of paper, before reaching in quickly and taking one of the first ones her hand brushes against. No point in making the girls wait even longer when they're already so nervous just so the Capitol can have a few more seconds of anticipation.

She gently walks back to the microphone to avoid her boots squeaking loudly as the tension from the crowd can almost be felt. Alphys takes a deep breath as she starts to open up the slip of paper, hoping that she'll be able to do her best for whoever she picked this year. "Okay. The female tribute for District Ten this year is-"

"Me!" A desperate voice shouts out from the crowd, stopping Alphys right away and starting a wave of muttering from the crowd. She stares out at the crowd in disbelief, the piece of paper with the name she was supposed to call out slipping out of her fingers as she watches the crowd quickly move away from a figure pushing forward, continuing to shout at her. "Me! I volunteer!"

"What?" Alphys asks, still in disbelief as the young girl – surely this thirteen-year-old cannot be the person volunteering in District Ten of all places – quickly walks towards the stage, staring around nervously with wide hazel eyes. She pushes back a bit of hair that fell forward in her rush to volunteer. Despite the nervousness in her eyes, she's still smiling and lets out a loud nervous laugh when she reaches the stage, stopping briefly to look at the Peacekeepers standing at the bottom before turning her gaze up towards Alphys.

The escort realizes her mouth his hanging open in shock and quickly closes it as she starts to straighten out her jacket as the young girl makes her way up the stairs. _Just don't think about how everyone is going to be talking about this…_ Alphys clears her throat as the girl stops next to her, almost taller than Alphys already at her young age and her eyes shifting around nervously. "Well, I've never had a volunteer before," Alphys lets out a nervous chuckle as she glances at the crowd before turning back to the girl when she echoes her laugh. The escort studies her for a moment, questioning if the girl was mocking her. But no, the young girl who doesn't look like she's ever had a day of working in the pastures isn't mocking her. "So…what's your name?"

"Jinx Holiday," the young girl answers with another loud giggle that just makes Alphys feel uncomfortable and wishing she would stop. Alphys can kind of handle kids crying when they're picked, but continuing to giggle? It's just making her feel even more anxious.

Alphys just stares at Jinx for a few seconds, having no clue what to do with a thirteen-year-old who volunteered and keeps nervously giggling as she looks around at the Peacekeepers nearby. _The other escorts would know how to react…_

So Alphys just turns and makes her way to the other glass bowl, picking one of the first slips so she can move on and get the attention of the crowd off of her because there's a volunteer. Yet her boots are still uncomfortably loud and now Jinx is giggling at the sound, only making Alphys more anxious and ready to get off the stage. "Is anyone going to interrupt this time?" Alphys quietly asks herself, nervously laughing when she's picked up by the microphone. She turns her attention back to the paper in her hands and quickly opens it, hoping there won't be another volunteer causing Alphys to get more attention than she would like. "Alright, the male tribute for District Ten is Beau Cheshire."

Alphys stares out at the boys in the crowd, only having to wait a few seconds before the crowd starts to shuffle around a figure emerging from one of the closer sections, making her feel a bit better about the odds of District Ten having a victor this year. She isn't completely ruling Jinx out based on her age, but Alphys knows that statistically, there's just a greater chance that the older tributes will win. Once the boy is in the center path, the first thing she notices about him is the messy brown hair that he tries to tame as he walks towards the stage. Once accepting it as a lost cause, he tucks one hand into his black slacks and uses the other to adjust the collar on his blue plaid shirt. As he gets closer to the stage, Alphys can start to see the fear on his face, despite him trying to appear casual.

Beau makes his way up the stairs, staring over at Jinx who keeps giggling and making Alphys uncomfortable. But when he reaches the top of the stairs, he turns his attention to Alphys and her heart goes out to the poor boy as he starts to shake in fear. Alphys takes a deep breath as he stops next to her, determined to once again do everything she can to help these two out. "Hello, Beau," she says quietly to him and places a hand on his shoulder, giving what she hopes is a comforting smile before turning back to the crowd and feeling her nerves double once more with everyone staring up at her. "Any volunteers? No…?" Alphys isn't too surprised by the silence that meets her and turns back to her two tributes, studying them for a moment. A young volunteer and an older boy trying so hard to hold it together…Well, tributes have won with worse odds. "Alright our tributes for the 113th Hunger Games are Jinx Holiday and Beau Cheshire. May the odds be ever in your favor."

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Despite being in the Justice Building for a few minutes now, Jinx is still nervously pacing the room and continuously glancing over at the door, waiting for the Peacekeepers to burst in and arrest her. But they can't. Not anymore. She's no longer a murderer from District Ten. She's a tribute for the Hunger Games. They can't arrest her now…right?

…What did Jinx get herself into?

It will be okay once she gets home because they're not going to arrest the victor for murder. If they did that, ever victor would be locked up. Nope, Jinx will be fine as a victor. All she has to do is murder intentionally.

Legal murder. That's all this is.

Jinx lets out another giggle at that thought before finally sitting down on the couch. After a week of being paranoid that the Peacekeepers were going to find out it was her, she's finally starting to get rid of that fear. She's important now. They can't take her away from the games. And Sally won't ever know what she did and when she gets back, she won't have to worry about anyone trying to take Sally away from her.

…Now if only she wasn't stuck in this boring room.

Jinx giggles loudly as she starts tapping her fingers against the edge of the couch, staring at the door. She can hear muffled voices passing and a woman sobbing loudly. Maybe that's Beau's mother crying about her son being Reaped and going to the games? Well no wonder she's crying, he won't be making it home because Jinx is going to be the victor. Her father would never cry like that. Not that he will even be stopping by to say goodbye to her today since he's off on yet another of his long business trips.

Yet the loud footsteps of Peacekeepers walking by still makes Jinx let out a loud nervous giggle, still expecting one of them to walk in and accuse her of murder. She just wants to be on the train already to the Capitol, away from all of the Peacekeepers in District Ten who are still actively looking for her. But she doesn't want to leave Sally, especially not before seeing her one more time before leaving the District.

After what seems like hours of waiting around, there's finally a small knock on the door. Jinx nervously laughs at this before realizing that no Peacekeeper would ever knock like that, if at all. The door slowly opens and Sally peeks her head in, causing Jinx to start grinning at the sight of her friend. When Sally sees her, she gets a little bit of a smile on her face and it only makes Jinx start grinning even more and her heart starts to beat faster. Seeing Sally standing there, she knows that she would volunteer to keep herself from jail for Sally's sake again in a heartbeat.

Sally pushes open the door so that she can step into the room before slowly closing it behind her, staring down at the ground. When she looks up at Jinx, the girl's smile drops a little at the sadness on Sally's face. "Jinx, why did you do it?" Sally asks as she walks through the room, face distraught as she comes to a halt in front of Jinx.

"Do what?" Jinx asks nervously and giggles once more. Did the Peacekeepers find out it was her because they were curious to learn more about the girl who volunteered? Did Sally find out that she murdered Galvin and is going to hate her forever? Is the Capitol already talking about how the young girl who volunteered for District Ten has already killed?

"Why did you volunteer?" Sally mutters, wiping at her eyes before tears can start falling. Jinx's smile falters at this reaction from Sally as she continues, "You're going to have to kill to get back home!"

Jinx gives a small shrug at this, still smiling at her friend. Her best friend who she did this for. Now Sally won't ever know that Jinx killed Galvin because they won't arrest the victor. "I'll be able to do it to get back home."

Sally moves to sit on the couch next to her, staring over at Jinx for a moment. "But it's wrong to kill."

Jinx starts frowning at this, hating that she's done something that is upsetting Sally. All she wants is for Sally to be happy and that means her never finding out what Jinx did. "Even if I have to do it to get home as victor?"

They sit in silence for a minute as Jinx waits for Sally to responds, hoping that Sally will say that it's okay for Jinx to kill then. The silence is occasionally broken by a giggle from Jinx before finally, Sally lets out a sigh and stops staring at the door to look over at Jinx, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Jinx, you need to get back. Do you realize what the odds are of you making it home?"

Jinx gives a shrug at this and giggles at Sally being so concerned for her. The way she's looking over at her just makes her stomach feel all fluttery, but a good fluttery compared to the anxious knot that she's felt for the last week. "I don't know but I'll be fine!"

Sally stares at her for a moment and Jinx can't figure out the look on her face before Sally reaches out and hugs her. "Please try your best to get home. I can't lose you after just finding out the Galvin was murdered. I need my best friend back."

Jinx tenses in Sally's arms – just after giggling in happiness at the affection from her friend – at the mention of her still being upset at Galvin's death. Doesn't Sally understand that she doesn't need someone else when she has Jinx? Well, by time Jinx gets back, Sally should be done thinking about that boy. "Don't worry, I'll get home."

Sally lets go of Jinx at a knock on the door followed by a Peacekeeper stepping into the room, making Jinx giggle nervously that they're here to take her away. But Sally stands up, the Peacekeeper watching her carefully, yet Sally keeps her gaze on Jinx. "Just be good, Jinx, okay?"

Jinx giggles at this and her smile grows, again getting that fuzzy feeling she loves whenever Sally calls her good. "Of course. I'm going to be good and become the victor for you."

* * *

 **Well, this chapter has been well overdue so sorry about that, the end of the semester was crazy busy for me. But I'm back and I'm on break so I'm** **ready to crank out some intro chapters! So of course, very big thanks to _David12341,_ _Mewruru,_ and _AmericanPi_ for Jinx, Beau, and Alphys respectfully. David, I know how excited you've been about Jinx since this story started so I hope I did this crazy little girl justice. Man this chapter was an interesting one to write. Jinx was a lot of fun and I can't wait to keep writing her interactions with Beau! And Alphys was a lot of fun too and she was so easy to write because I basically got to write how I would be in that situation. So thank you three once more!**

 **Alright, so what did you think about Jinx? Nothing like a sociopath who thinks they're good to spice things up in the story lol. Not sure if you've noticed but I plan on having each victor make a small appearance in the sections before the reapings! So I figured why not give Johan a kind of girlfriend, he deserves it lol. And lets have our random question, just a reminder that answer this will give you extra sponsor points that can be used in both of my SYOTs!**

 **Random Question #2: How would you react to seeing Alphys' science experiments if you lived in District Ten?**

 **Well everyone, I'll see you next time in District Three! Like I said before, thinks are going to keep getting crazy lol so you better buckle up and sit tight!**


	8. District 3: Illusions

**Chapter 5:**

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

 _Fifteen months before the Reaping_

' _One ounce of Orris Root. Three Primrose Leaves. Pinch of Paprika. Five ounces of Star Anise, burn-'_

Beta's pen slips with the sound of someone yelling from the table in front of him, breaking his concentration and ruining the meticulous notes in his notebook. He squints up at the two girls that somehow broke through his concentration in the busy school cafeteria. He recognizes the girls from his class and glances back down at his notebook, unable to take his gaze away from the messed up lettering. He feels brief burst of anger course through him that the page is now ruined by them distracting him. One small slip of his pen and it's all ruined. He can't mess this up. Not again. He can't waste a new moon tonight with another pointless trip to the hospital. He needs to get in contact with Copper-

"Digit, you need stitches!"

Beta glances back up at the girl yelling once more before turning his gaze to the one she's staring at, who must be Digit. The girl watches them with wide eyes, shaking her head as she puts a bandage around her hand. Beta catches sight of a deep wound, slowly oozing blood, just before the white cloth covers it and quickly turns red, only making him curious about what caused the injury. "It's fine, Minerva. I've had a lot worse."

"You mean the terrible scar on your leg?" Minerva responds with a huff of annoyance as Digit stares down at the table, looking as if she wants to be anywhere but in the cafeteria. "When are you going to stand up and stop this stupid training?"

At this comment, the anger from messing up his notes is pushed aside – definitely not forgotten, as he'll always have that page of error to remember it – and replaced with curiosity for this girl. Digit shakes her head at her friend before mumbling something that Beta can't hear as he stares at the bandaged hand, mentally going through his notebook and already thinking of a remedy that can easily fix her injury.

"She's right, it doesn't need stitches," Beta speaks up, immediately drawing the attention from both of them over to him. He glances away from them for a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable at their gaze, but when he turns back, Digit is giving him a kind look, so he carefully picks up his notebook and shows it to her. "I have a recipe for a salve that I could give you that will heal it in no time. Especially with it being a new moon tonight."

Minerva gives a sneer at his comment and quickly turns away from him, shaking her head and muttering to herself, but not quiet enough for Beta to not hear, "He's so creepy."

Beta clenches his notebook, throwing it down on the table harder than necessary, and starting to flip towards the front without even needing to look at the pages to know exactly what curse he wants for this rude girl. Maybe he can curse her to lose all of her hair or she'll wake up with maggots in her bed or-

"Thank you," Digit speaks up, stopping Beta right away. He stares at her, hand poised and holding a page, and she gives him the quickest and tiniest of smiles before glancing over at Minerva. "My parents already bought medicine from the store."

Beta is ready to give a smile in return for her at least not being rude to him like Minerva, but he doesn't get to respond before a person stands behind the seat across from him. He looks up at the person and a few seconds pass before he finally recognizes them. But their appearance comes as a shock to him as he's always seen them with long hair and flirting with the other guys in their year. Not with shaggy short hair that clearly they cut themselves and wearing a baggy sweater.

"Um…hi," Tracer says quietly to him, fidgeting with the tray in their hands for a moment before looking back at Beta, who must be staring at them with wide eyes. "Can I sit here? There's just…no one else I want to sit with." Tracer glances around the cafeteria before turning back to Beta, their eyes showing a range of emotions. "Or rather, no one who wants me to sit with them…"

Beta stares around at the empty table, questioning if Tracer is really talking to him. But he's the only one here, so surely they are talking to him. He nods his head once and Tracer takes the seat right away as Beta releases the page of his notebook, filing his plan into the back of his mind to finish at a later time. Tracer glances around nervously at the others in the cafeteria before turning their attention to their tray and starting to absentmindedly poke at their food.

The two sit in silence for a minute, Tracer continuing to push the food around their tray while Beta stares at them curiously. And why wouldn't he? Everyone has heard the rumors about Tracer. The rumors never affected him so it wasn't a big concern for him – not when there are so many other things for him to focus on. But he'll admit, he's curious about Tracer.

"What was it like to do the sex?"

Tracer drops their fork and it clatters loudly on their tray, but the noise fades into the rest of the sounds from the cafeteria. Tracer looks up at Beta, staring at him carefully for a minute and Beta does the same, genuinely curious for their answer. But staring at them just reveals a sadness in their eyes, briefly broken by a flash of amusement, reminding Beta of the most recent rumors about Tracer. Finally, Tracer gives a nod of their head at his notebook, "What are you working on there?"

Beta turns his attention to his little leather-bound notebook, pages filled with careful lettering, numerous potions and spells, notes on what did or didn't work, and he feels an immense sense of happiness for his work. "Documentation of all of my spells and potions."

"Do they actually work?" Tracer asks and Beta is ready to need to curse another person for being skeptical of his magic. Of _course_ it works. But when he looks up, he sees a genuine curiosity in their eyes, a thirst to learn. Beta nods his head, feeling his heart race a little just thinking about how wonderful it feels to perform his magic. Tracer lets out a wistful sigh and tries to give Beta a small smile but just looks sad, "Can you help me?"

Right away, Beta smiles at them, ready to start flipping through his notes to find what Tracer needs. He just can't help the bit of excitement about someone wanting him to use his magic for them. "What do you need? I have spells, potions, amulets like the one I'm wearing. Oh I hope you don't need me to tell you your future because I'm terrible at divination."

Tracer lets out a tiny, adorable laugh at this before their face quickly turns back into sadness, quickly making the smile on Beta's face drop. "No…I need something to get rid of what they did to me…" Tracer stares down at their hands, shaking their head as tears start forming in their eyes. "I just feel so wrong and everyone says it was my fault but it wasn't."

Beta stares at them for a minute, unsure how to comfort them, before finally flipping through the pages. He holds a finger in two different spots, knowing exactly what they need, but hesitates. They need to be performed during a new moon, the best time for cleansing. But he was going to use the new moon tonight to use the new board he made to try and contact Copper. He _has_ to talk to her spirit and get her back.

But at a sniffle from Tracer, Beta makes up his mind and turns the notebook around so he can show Tracer his two spells. As much as he wants – no, _needs_ to get Copper back – another month will not make a huge difference. If anything, it will give him time to make sure he doesn't mess up and wind up in the hospital again. But for Tracer…they need a cleansing ritual now. "I have two options, one uses potions and another uses crystals, but their purpose is the same. Cleansing and purifying the soul."

Tracer's eyes light up a little at this, further making Beta think that this is the right decision. And he's not giving up on Copper; but part of him knows that she would agree that helping Tracer is right thing to do right now. "When?"

Beta gives Tracer a small smile as he takes back his notebook, closing it carefully with the ribbon in place where he left off earlier. "Tonight."

* * *

Dusk fell quickly in District Three, with Beta busy preparing for a completely different ritual than he had planned. As he gathers the last few crystals needed for tonight, he pauses to stare over at the small table in the corner of his room, perfectly organized with the materials he should have been using tonight, and a pang of guilt and longing courses through him. Guilt that Copper's spirit will spend another month wandering alone because he is delaying once more. Guilt that he hasn't been able to do more by now. And just a deep longing to have his sister and best friend back here.

"Beta!"

The voice of his father calling out from downstairs momentarily takes him out of his spirally mood and bringing him back to the present. "Yes?" He calls out as he turns his attention back to the notebook in his hands, triple checking everything.

"You have a…friend here?" His father's voice is full of confusion at this, but also weary, surely from a full day of running the shop.

Beta finds himself grinning before jumping off of his bed and quickly making his way down the stairs, taking a couple at a time. He comes to a stop behind the counter of the shop on the first floor, standing beside his confused father and across from Tracer.

Tracer is standing there, hands tucked into the pockets of their hoodie and awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with his father. Beta recognizes the look of someone who is doubting if his magic is real, but also sees curiosity in their eyes. "Hi Tracer. Come on, I just need to grab some stuff," he motions for them to walk around the counter as he turns his attention to his father who watches them wearily, pen still in hand from going through the inventory. "Tracer is here for one of my spells." His father just lets out a sigh at this and turns back to the papers in front of him. Beta grabs Tracer's hand, feeling them tense up so he quickly drops it before heading back up the stairs. "I just need to grab the materials and then we can go out back for the spell."

Beta doesn't look back at them as they enter his room, the place perfect chaos. Beta quickly moves to wear he laid out the crystals and his notebook on his bed, knowing that even if he hadn't prepared, it would only take a minute to find everything in his room. He can hear Tracer wandering around, surely looking at the various herbs he keeps.

"What's this?" Tracer asks quietly and Beta looks up from gathering his materials to see them about to pick up his homemade board.

"Don't touch it!" He says quickly and jumps over, pulling their hand away from it. Tracer's face immediately shows fear and confusion at his action and they take a step away from him, watching him carefully as he adjusts the board, even though they hadn't actually touched it. "I'm sorry…I need everything to be perfect so I can get Copper back."

Tracer nods their head at this, eyes still betraying that they feel a little hurt by Beta's actions, making him feel a bit of guilt. They step back again, closer to the door and put their hands behind their back to keep from touching anything else. "What…" they hesitate for a moment as Beta returns to picking up his supplies. "What exactly happened to Copper?"

Beta closes his eyes, chest feeling tight as he's thrown back to years ago and a terrible three days. Memories he tries to keep suppressed. A dark, dark mood starts creeping in to his mind and he quickly shakes his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts. He can't be thinking like this when he needs to perform a cleansing ritual. When he opens his eyes and stares over at Tracer, he's met with large, innocent eyes who have seen terrible things. "That's for another time." Beta lets out a shaky breath as he picks up his notebook, ready to head out back. "Come on, it's almost perfect time to perform the ritual."

With all of the gathered supplies, Beta leaves his room and heads down the hallway towards a different set of stairs, one that will lead them directly outside. Tracer's footsteps are soft behind him and they're both quiet as they step outside. Immediately, Beta feels at peace as they walk into the small garden filled with herbs for his father's apothecary, a small little bit of paradise in the otherwise busy District. The sounds of the city still drift towards them, a few car honks and people shouting as the people working the night shift scramble to get to work on time.

But Beta easily blocks out the sound, turning to face Tracer when he reaches a small ring of stones that he set up in the ground. They're staring around at the garden, eyes still hiding that sadness, but at least there's a bit of hope now. When they finally turn their gaze to Beta, he can see tears threatening to fall from their eyes. "Please help me heal."

Beta nods his head at them, starting to feel some pressure to perform the spell perfectly to help Tracer. No one has asked him before to perform his magic. Not since Copper…and he doesn't want to mess this up.

He motions to Tracer to stand in front of the circle and they follow his instruction as he starts setting up the crystals, meticulously organizing them into place, double and triple checking his notes, even if he has the spell memorized. "Is there…" Tracer starts hesitantly and stops when Beta looks up at them, blinking a few times as they try to see in the growing darkness. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Beta shakes his head at them, adjusting one last crystal before standing up and staring at them. "Alright. Close your eyes." He can see Tracer hesitating once more and a few seconds pass before finally they close their eyes. "I want you to focus on the negative things you're trying-"

"I don't want to," Tracer interrupts him, voice quiet and shaking with pain, making Beta angry at whoever hurt them.

"You have to," Beta says quietly as he watches them start to shake their head. "You have to think about it to focus the crystals on the negative feelings they will heal."

Beta stares at them for a minute, their eyes still shut and shoulders starting to shake, wondering if they will be able to go through with the spell. Finally, they open their eyes to stare at him before slowly nodding their head. "Okay," they finally whisper, but their voice betrays doubt. "I can do this."

Beta smiles at this, feeling a flash of happiness at someone wanting to perform magic with him, before growing serious once more. He waits until Tracer shuts their eyes once more before looking down at the crystals on the ground between them. "The new moon signifies the end of things and new beginnings. From the darkness of the new moon, slowly light is brought back. With the new moon, we'll wash away the pain. Take away the suffering. And in its place will be hope. Hope and pure energy."

"Crystals help focus the energy of the new moon," Beta pauses for a moment, staring down at the six crystals carefully arranged into a circle, mimicking the shape of the moon. "One of them will call out to you. Focus your thoughts on healing. Push the negative feelings out and the crystal will speak to us."

Tracer lets out a small, wistful sigh, and in that moment, Beta _knows_ which crystal is calling to Tracer. "Hold out your hand," Beta mutters as he picks up the northernmost crystal, taking in a deep breath as he feels the warmth of it. Tracer listens to him and when he drops the stone into their palm, they gasp and open their eyes, staring at Beta with wonder. "Rose quartz. For grounding, soothing, and healing. Use this crystal to ground yourself. Focus on the crystal and use it to release your negative feelings."

Tracer closes their hand around the stone and holds it against their chest, still staring up at Beta and eyes lit up in wonder. "I believe you," they whisper and close their eyes for a moment. And in that moment, their face looks at peace. When they look at Beta again, he can tell that the spell has worked. They'll still need time to fully heal, but the purification process has started. "I didn't know I could ever feel something so wonderful again. Not after what happened. Will you teach me?"

"Teach you?" Beta asks in disbelief, just surprised to see someone who not only believes him, but wants to learn from him. When Tracer nods their head quickly, Beta feels a smile slowly start to form on his face before he nods his head once. "Yes."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

"Peony," Beta calls out, carefully reading from his journal the list of ingredients needed for a new protection charm.

"Got it!" Tracer answers and Beta hears the faint clink of the glass jar as Tracer steps down from the ladder. Beta looks over, seeing his friend smiling as they hold on to several jars of herbs. "Anything else?"

Beta nods his head at them, "Just aconite."

Tracer gives him a confused look at this, but still grabs the herb from the shelf of the shop. "What's the aconite for?" They ask as they walk back to the table, carefully setting down all of the jars.

"For protection against nasty vampires," Beta responds with a solemn nod of his head as he starts to precisely measure out the herbs into two empty pouches in front of him.

"Do they really exist?" Tracer asks in a hushed voice and Beta looks up in time to see their eyes wide as they stare at him.

"Oh yes," he answers, nodding his head once more as Tracer's face starts to pale in fear. "Don't worry, you'll be protected with this. Although I would love to meet a hot vampire."

Tracer starts giggling at this and Beta grins at them. How could he not grin when they look so adorable, wearing that hat of his they stole a month ago and in such a better place than when they first met? "Well maybe you'll meet a hot guy. I know that's why you added the ambergris."

"Hey, it also enhances dreams and psychic ventures," Beta tells them, but from the smile on their face, he knows they see right through him. "Alright, maybe I added it for its abilities to attract men."

Tracer starts laughing even more at this as the bells on the door to the shop chime. They both look over and Tracer stops laughing when they see the woman entering, small smile on her face as she hums lightly to herself. She stops at the counter, looking around at the herbs. "That's a lovely tune," Tracer says to her and Beta nods his head in agreement, even if he isn't nearly as skilled with enchantments and singing as Tracer is.

Isidore stops her humming to look over at them, slowly smiling but Beta can see the pain on her face because of today. "Thank you. It's just a little something I'm working on, even if I'm a little stuck with the ending. But, I still love making music. Helps with the memories, you know," Isidore trails off as she stares around at the herbs, quiet for a few seconds before letting out a wistful sigh. "Yet I always find that the melody I hummed at the end finds its way into whatever I write."

"Isidore!" Beta's father calls out as he leaves the stock room, closing the door behind him. He gives her a smile, but Beta knows it's the one his father gives every customer. "Always a nice surprise to see you here. What can I get for you today?"

"Something for a stomach bug," Isidore answers and Beta's father immediately starts rummaging through the shelf behind him. "Markos is still stubborn and refuses to take any medicine I buy him. He thinks the Capitol is putting some chemicals to mind control us or something in their pills. He'll only accept natural medicine."

"Well this should do the trick," Beta's father answers as he turns around, holding out a small vial of green liquid in it. "Definitely will cure a stomach bug."

Isidore exchanges the medicine for gold and shakes her head. "I don't care if it cures it instantly, as long as he stops complaining and doesn't throw up at the Reaping." She lets out a chuckle as she turns to look over at Beta and Tracer, still smiling. "Siblings. I swear, I don't know how I put up with him sometime." She furrows her brow as she stares at the two of them. "Are you siblings? You don't really look like it."

Tracer laughs at this suggestion and Beta shakes his head, feeling his thoughts darken as he thinks about his siblings. "No, just friends."

Isidore nods her head at this, seemingly unaware of Beta's darkening mood. She looks around and smiles at Beta's father. "Well, I should probably get this back to Markos. Thanks Adam." Isidore starts walking towards the door, but pauses with her hand on the handle. When she turns towards Beta and Tracer, her smile has disappeared and the years of suffering from the games show on her face. "And…I guess good luck at the Reaping."

"Thank you," Tracer answers quietly and Isidore nods her head at them before stepping outside, the bells on the door chiming once more. Beta's father heads back into the stock room once the door is shut, leaving Beta in his darkening mood. When Tracer looks over at him, they reach out and grab his hand. "Oh Beta, we'll get Copper back. Tonight's a full moon so we'll try the newest spell you have."

Beta nods his head at this, knowing they're right, before taking a deep breath and standing up. "We should get going. Here," he hands Tracer one of the small pouches, slipping the other into the pocket of his pants.

Tracer smiles up at him before standing up. But they hesitate to start walking towards the door. "Are you okay?"

Beta nods his head at this, even if his mind is still dark. "I will be once we get her back."

"And we will," Tracer answers confidently, giving him their adorable grin and making it impossible for Beta not to smile in return. "Come on, we have enough time to walk through the city park before the Reaping."

The suggestion helps clear any remaining darkness in Beta, even if the 'park' hardly counts as a park. But still, it's a tiny bit of green in an otherwise dull city. "Lets go."

Tracer leads the way out of the shop, only to get pushed back into Beta as soon as they step foot outside. "I'm so sorry!" A guy says right away to them, flashing them both a great smile that Beta will admit makes him feel warm and fuzzy. Hard not to when a cute guy smiles at him like that. "Wasn't expecting someone to walk out of the shop right then."

"No worries," Tracer answers and Beta fights back a smile at the wistful tone of their voice. The guy gives them another smile before waving and walking off, leaving Tracer to sigh as they look over at Beta. "I think your protection charm worked." Tracer shakes their head as they watch him get hidden from view by the surprising crowd heading towards the City Square. "He looks like he's straight out of District One. I bet his name is Emiry or Elias, something like that. Maybe Emilio."

"Wouldn't surprise me if someone in One names their child Emilio. But come on," Beta says with a laugh, starting to lead them into the flow of people. "We'll probably never see him again."

Tracer sighs and Beta looks over to see them shaking their head. "That's a shame."

* * *

 _Frisk Delarosa, Escort for District Three_

Frisk is feeling a little nervous as they wait inside the Justice Building. But it's a good nervousness. It just means that they really care about this job. And they're certainly going to do their very best, not just now in their first year, but for as many years as they end up being an escort.

"Let's welcome our brand new escort," Mayor Odele says, her voice muffled by the closed door. "Frisk Delarosa."

Frisk takes a deep breath, calming themselves and trying to focus. They don't want to let down the tributes or even their friends by doing a poor job, especially after Alphys convinced them to become an escort! With one last straightening of their light blue tunic – of course covered with glittery pink stripes – Frisk throws open the front door, ready to do their very best.

"Hello District Three!" Frisk excitedly yells out to the crowd, waving out at them as they step out onto the stage. Mayor Odele is trying to quietly get to her seat, but Frisk stops them, shaking her hand with both of theirs enthusiastically. "Thank you for the introduction!"

Mayor Odele gives them a polite smile, but Frisk has already let go of her hand and has moved towards the center of the stage. They look out at the crowd, fighting back a smile, even if it might make them think they aren't interested. But their attention is soon drawn to the surrounding city and the overlooking buildings, so similar yet so different from the Capitol. The sight of a brand new place only adds to Frisk's excitement. "Hello everyone!" They finally say, turning their attention back to the crowd. They people gathered look frightened, only making Frisk want to help them even more. "As Mayor Odele said, I'm Frisk Delarosa, your new escort! And I'm very excited to be here today and to start working towards bringing home your next victor!"

Frisk pauses for a moment, hoping for some sort of response from the crowd. But when they just keep staring up at them, Frisk doesn't know quite what to do – Alphys or one of the others would know – so they do what they do best. Talk. "I know it's my very first year and I might be young, but I'm going to do my best! I've gotten plenty of advice from all of the other escorts – especially my good friend Alphys in District Ten – and will use all of their advice to bring you home a victor. If there's one trait my friends use to describe me, it's determination!" Frisk holds up their right hand, showing off the red heart tattoo on the back of it. "See! The red heart here is indicative of my determination, which I think is my best trait. Of course there are other dominant traits," Frisk holds up their other hand, showing off the other tattoo, this one a circle of six hearts of other colors. "The colors represent souls, with each color being related to their strongest virtue! Each one I have tattooed represents one of my friends. Alphys is blue for her integrity, then the orange is-"

"Frisk," a gentle voice says behind them and they turn around and find themselves staring up at Mayor Odele. She gives them a kind smile before clearing her throat, "While District Three certainly appreciates an escort who is so dedicated and ready to bring home one of our children, perhaps you should pick the names?"

Immediately, a wave of embarrassment washes over Frisk and they quickly nod their head at Mayor Odele. When they turn back to the crowd, they try to keep their face neutral so the other escorts watching won't know just how embarrassed Frisk is right now. How many of the other escorts will need to be told by the mayor of their District to keep going with the mayor? None of them would have not known what to do.

But Frisk glances down at their hand and their red heart, before nodding their head. No matter, they'll learn from this experience. There's a reason Frisk's soul is red for determination. "Okay, how about we pick the female tribute?" They start to walk away from the microphone but take a quick step back. "Oh and please tell me when you get to the stage if you use different pronouns. I don't want to misgender anyone!"

Frisk finally starts walking towards the left side of the stage, pausing at the glass ball and taking a deep breath. This is it. Their big moment. Except they struggle a little to reach inside, their short stature preventing them from reaching past the first couple slips of paper. But Frisk feels good about the name they pick and head back to the microphone, feeling their excitement returning once more. Whoever they picked, Frisk is ready to do whatever it takes to help them get home. "Okay District Three! Your first tribute is Ari Galvin! Please come on up!"

It takes a few seconds for the crowd to react to the name and then Frisk catches sight of a small figure stepping out from the group of fifteen-year-olds. The girl keeps her fists balled at her sides as she walks towards the stage, gaze set on Frisk and refusing to look at the crowd staring towards her. Frisk clasps their hands together as Ari approaches the stage, having a good feeling the Ari will have a good chance. Even when the girl reaches them and Frisk sees the tears threatening to fall, Frisk puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hello Ari! I'll certainly do everything I can to help you. Unless, of course, there is a volunteer?"

Frisk doesn't really expect a response to their question. So when a timid voice calls out, "I volunteer," Frisk is certain their surprise is visible on their face. Ari wastes no time in running off the stage and towards the side of the crowd as the volunteer steps out from the sixteen-year-olds. The girl keeps her large blue eyes trained on the ground as everyone stares at her, wanting to know more about why someone from District Three would volunteer. As she reaches the stairs up to the stage, she brushes back her long brown hair and takes a look at someone among the adults gathered on the side, before straightening her pale blue dress and starting up the steps.

"Hello!" Frisk says as their excitement reaches a peak. How exciting that their first year they have a volunteer! The girl looks timid so Frisk puts an arm around her, trying to give her some comfort. "Oh you definitely have an orange soul, being so brave to volunteer! What's your name?"

"Digit," she answers quietly, finally looking down at Frisk and away from the stage floor. "Digit Estrada."

"Welcome, Digit," Frisk responds, genuinely looking forward to talking to Digit and getting to know her. "I'm looking forward to doing my best to help you! How about we see who will be joining you?"

Frisk makes their way to the other side of the stage, wasting no time in selecting the next tribute. Once again, they have a good feeling about the tribute selected as they return to the microphone, Digit standing by shyly waiting. "Okay! Your second tribute is Beta Fanto!"

Once again, it takes a moment to find the tribute in the crowd. When the boys start to move away from someone in the sixteen-year-old section, Frisk spots a confused looking boy who doesn't appear to have done much to fix his appearance today. He fidgets with his hands for a seconds before pocketing something and starts walking towards the stage, squinting up at Frisk. As he gets closer to the stage, Frisk starts to make out more details of his unkempt appearance. Auburn hair is pulled back with a few…twigs sticking out? His face is smudged with dirt and unshaved hair, giving him the bizarre appearance of being an adult and a child at the same time.

And yet…Frisk believes in him. Something about him says that there's more to him and Frisk is ready to also support him as much as they can!

"Hello Beta!" Frisk says when he reaches the stage, making them stare up at him. He blinks at them, eyes seemingly distant, so Frisk lets him process the moment and turns towards the crowd. "What are the odds that there is a second volunteer today?"

No one volunteers this time, but it doesn't bother Frisk. They know they have two great tributes this year. "Okay District Three! Here are the two tributes that will fight for you! I promise I'm going to do everything I possibly can for them. So let's hear it for Digit Estrada and Beta Fanto!"

The crowd gives light applause at this, making Frisk let out a sigh of relief. They watch the tributes shake hands, feeling proud that they got through their first Reaping. And they have a great feeling that this year will be the year District Three finally gets over their slump of no victors since Isidore's win. And Frisk is going to make that happen!

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Beta wasn't really expecting the reaction he got from his parents. He wasn't really ready to see his mother sobbing at him being Reaped after years of ignoring him. First out of mourning and then because there was little Astra to care for.

But here she is, holding on to his father as he awkwardly tries to comfort her, while Astra stays hidden behind their mother's legs, watching Beta with wide and cautious eyes. But he doesn't waste time looking at her. She's not the sister he loves. "Beta, you have to win. Do whatever it takes, kill, get angry, just whatever it takes!"

"I will certainly try," Beta tells them, turning his attention to the crystal he twists in his hands. Solid black obsidian. Useful for grounding. Hopefully it will keep him grounded as he prepares for the games. And he knows he'll do his best to try and win. What else can he do if he wants to bring Copper back?

His father gives a quick nod of his head as he rubs his wife's back, still useless to comfort her. "Good. Well, hopefully we'll see you soon. Astra, say goodbye to your brother."

Beta's sister shakes her head, grasping on to their mother's legs even tighter. "I don't want to," she whispers and Beta just stares at her, wishing Astra could have been Copper reborn. But Copper never would have reacted this way to Beta being selected to be in the Hunger Games.

A Peacekeeper knocks on the door, only making his mother let out a loud sob. But they still move towards the door, his mother pausing to look back at Beta. "Please, Beta. I can't lose another child."

A short figure pushes past his mother as she leaves the room, heading straight towards Beta. Tracer stops in front of Beta, tears silently rolling down their cheeks before they finally reach out and hug Beta tightly. He holds on to them in return, hating to see his friend upset. "I guess I should have worked on my divination. Maybe I would have seen this coming."

Tracer lets out something between a sob and a laugh at this, letting go of Beta to sit on the couch next to him. They take his hand, holding on to it tightly, as tears keep falling down their face. "I can't lose you."

Beta shakes his head at this, trying to stay optimistic in the face of entering the games. "I don't plan on going down easily," he says, but Tracer still looks upset, so he gives them a smile. "Besides, I'm not going to lose when I have you to cast some good fortune spells tonight under the full moon."

Tracer nods their head at this and tries to wipe away their tears, only for fresh ones to take their place. But they try to stay positive with his attitude. "I will. I'll cast as many spells as I know."

"And then some more," Beta responds as he reaches into his back pocket, carefully pulling his journal out and offering it to Tracer. Their eyes widen at the sight of it, but don't take it. "Take it. You'll need it to help me and to keep trying to get Copper back."

"But what if you need it in the arena?" Tracer asks him as they hesitantly take the journal from him. "Take it as your token."

Beta shakes his head at this and Tracer holds the journal tightly against their chest, tears starting once more. "I have my obsidian crystal. Take good care of that until I get home."

"I will," Tracer answers quietly, letting out a sniffle as they try to wipe away their tears. "Just make sure you get home."

Beta nods his head at them, getting a small smile of hope from them. "With you casting spells for me, I know I can win."

* * *

 **Alrighty we're finally back with the District Three intro! Big thanks to _CelticGames4,_ _District 9 Tribute,_ and _AmericanPi_ for Beta, Digit, and Frisk respectively! I really hope I did them justice! Ah Beta was so much fun to write, from all the times I've seen him before and the memes already about him. Plus, he's just such a complex character and I've never written someone with a backstory like him before. Obviously there are still things to be revealed about him, but what's the fun in revealing everything now?**

 **So the usual questions! What did you think of these tributes? Obviously there's a reason for Digit volunteering that will be revealed in time, but what are your guesses for now?**

 **Random question time: If you could perform a spell like Beta, what would you cast?**

 **Alright, next chapter should take less time than this one did, assuming I don't get chaotically busy again. And things will get somewhat normal, after Jinx and Beta back to back lol. But nothing wrong with a little crazy!**


	9. District 9: Necessity

**Chapter 6:**

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

 _Three months before the Reaping_

"Harlow," Garth groans as he tries to reach over to Harlow to snatch the note out of his hands, only for Harlow to jump up from the bed and starting giggling as he keeps out of Garth's reach. Garth shakes his head in embarrassment as Harlow stares down at the paper in his hand. If he would have known Harlow would read this aloud, he would have waited to give the gift until he was getting ready to leave. Anything to stop this. "Don't read it out loud."

Harlow only laughs more at his reaction, glancing up to grin over at Garth before turning back to the poem. _"No words can describe the way your eyes light up in excitement, but I shall try."_

"I'm serious, Harlow," Garth tells him, getting Harlow to stop reading the poem out loud and saving him from the embarrassment of Harlow's sister overhearing. Kimbra would never let him hear the end of that.

Harlow sets the paper down on his desk and Garth watches him nervously as Harlow opens up the small box that went with the poem. Garth had to work extra just to be able to afford it and he's still feeling sore from it. But it was worth it to see Harlow's eyes light up – just like that line in the poem – as he takes the small wristwatch inside the box. "Garth…"

"Don't even try to say it was too much," Garth says right away, knowing by the look in Harlow's eyes that he's ready to tell Garth exactly that. "Just let me spoil you for once."

Harlow sets the box down before walking back over to Garth, still looking like he wants to protest but keeps quiet. Instead, he jumps back up on the bed and wraps his arms around Garth, curling up against his side. "Well I love it. Both the poem and the gift."

Garth grins as he looks down at the cute boy next to him, still a little amazed at the fact that Harlow actually wanted to date him too. "I love you."

Harlow gives Garth the most adorable little smile at this – _God he loves Harlow so much_ – before leaning up to give him a light kiss. "I love you too," he whispers to him before kissing him again.

"Hey nerds!" Harlow's sister shouts through the bedroom door before knocking loudly on it, successfully ruining the cute moment. It's not the first time Kimbra's done this and Garth has no doubt it won't be the last time. "I'm coming in so you better not be naked or doing anything gross."

Harlow shouts back at her as Garth shakes his head at the two siblings, "We're not!"

At that, Kimbra busts into her brother's room, hands on her hips as she stares at the two of them. Garth raises an eyebrow at the new dress that she has on, wondering what spurred her to actually get dressed up. "I need your opinion. Mom gave me this old dress of hers and I need a second opinion."

It looks…absolutely terrible. But Garth gives her a forced smile, "It looks great on you, Kimbra."

Kimbra just scoffs at this and shakes her head at Garth before pointing at him accusingly. "Garth, you're a lying bastard and need to shut your whore mouth."

Harlow laughs loudly at this while Kimbra cracks a smirk at them, yet Garth finds himself tensing up at her joke hitting just a little too close. Does she know…?

"Harlow?" Kimbra asks, turning her attention to her younger brother, both of them seemingly unaware of the internal panic inside Garth.

"Hmm," Harlow starts tapping their chin and Garth glances down at him just in time to see the devious smile he gives Kimbra. "You look like a frumpy pillowcase."

Kimbra chuckles at this and walks over to give Harlow a quick fist bump. "That's what I thought, little bro." But when she turns her attention, her smile quickly fades. "You alright, Garth?"

"Hmm?" Garth quickly shakes his head, trying to put a smile on his face so they don't worry about him. Or worse, start questioning why he's so anxious about Kimbra's comment. "Oh, yeah, just thinking about how I don't want to leave to go to work in a little bit."

Kimbra narrows her eyes at Garth, making his palms start to sweat as he anxiously hopes she won't question his work tonight. "But it's Saturday. Why can't you have the night off?"

 _Because Saturdays are the busiest night of the week._ But he can't tell Kimbra and Harlow this. So he tells them the same lie, hoping it will keep them happy. "You know my family needs the money." He pauses so he can pull Harlow a little closer, getting a happy little laugh from him. "And I need to save up so I can keep giving Harlow all the love and gifts he deserves."

Kimbra starts backing out of the room, pointing over at Garth again and giving him a stern look. "You better keep treating Harlow like the damn king that he is."

"Kimbra," Garth tells her, making her pause with her hand on the doorknob so she can look back at him. "You've known me for how many years now? You know I wouldn't do anything else."

Kimbra smiles back at him, yet Garth can see it doesn't reach her eyes, only making him more anxious that something is bothering her. Did Garth do something to her to make her upset without realizing it? "Good," she sighs before turning towards the door, but not before Garth catches a weird look on her face. "Have fun at work, I guess."

Garth hates the reminder about work, wishing he could just stay here and be able to spend the night with Harlow and Kimbra. He knows he'll end up having fun at work, even if he hates it. "I'll try."

* * *

As Garth gets closer to the abandoned flour mill, he hesitantly glances around, still anxious after close to two years of this that someone he knows will be walking by at this time and recognize him. It's foolish because no one he knows would head towards the mills at this time at night.

Outside, one of the girls he works with leans against the building and smokes a cigarette. She nods her head at him and Garth does the same, trying not to stare at the bruises forming on her neck, very clearly outlining a hand. Hopefully his clients won't throw a fit at his rule of not marking him up tonight…

When Garth enters the building, he pauses for a minute in the doorway as his nerves kick up a notch. Does he really want to do this?

"You're later than normal."

Garth looks over at the guy, smiling a little at the sight of his coworker Ray approaching. Or, at least, that's what he tells everyone is his name. Who knows? No one here likes to use their real name. "Hey Ray. I got talked into staying for dinner with a…friend."

Ray gives a devious grin at this and Garth knows he sees right through the 'friend' part. "Well, your _friend_ saved you from getting stuck with Fonio tonight. But then again, he wanted some of the girls tonight, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

Garth raises an eyebrow in surprise at this as he glances around the main room. A few clients stand at the bar, flirting with some of his coworkers. Some people lounge on couches around the room, waiting for their turn. And then there's the victor, tucked away in the corner but still well on display for everyone present. The usual smirk is present on his face as he lounges, shirt off and watching two of the girls as they teasingly strip in front of him.

Garth turns his gaze back to Ray, almost a little disappointed that he missed out on Fonio. Sure, his personality is a little tough to handle at times and most of his coworkers don't like dealing with him. But…he's not bad looking – okay, maybe he's _really_ good looking – and he pays extremely well. Garth could be with just him and make more than he does on most nights. "Too bad," he mutters before shrugging at Ray, trying to get his nerves to calm down.

Ray shrugs in return and motions over to the bar. "Well, let's get you started."

Garth nods his head in agreement, his throat feeling tight with the nerves. He quickly walks over to the bar, wishing he didn't need to do this every time before he gets started. It would be so much easier if he didn't get so anxious about work. But when he reaches the bar, Yara looks over and gives him a grin. "The usual?"

"Yes please," he calls back, trying to ignore the looks from one of the men nearby as they hungrily look him over. He knows he shouldn't ignore them, but there will be plenty of time later to win them over. Besides, he recognizes a few faces and knows they'll still want him.

"So what do you think?" Ray asks as Yara comes back with a full shot glass for Garth. Garth quickly tips back the glass, cringing at the burning feeling in his throat. He turns back to Ray, hoping the alcohol will kick in quickly to help dispel the ball of nerves in his stomach. "Think we'll be working together tonight?"

"Boy at the bar!" A booming voice calls out and the both look around, trying to figure out who is being so demanding and who they're demanding for. Garth watches as Ray raises both eyebrows in shock before he looks over to the corner of the room. Fonio is standing up, staring over at them and pointing over at Garth. Once he knows he has Garth's attention, he motions him over, smirk on his face. "Come here."

Garth's heart starts racing as his nerves reach a peak, almost making him turn back to Yara and get the whole damn bottle of liquor. Why does Fonio want him? But no matter Garth's nerves, he would be a damn fool to turn down the victor, or rather, the victor's money.

He starts shuffling over mindlessly as Fonio sits back down, happy that Garth listened to him. Not that Garth would actually say no to any client…

Garth comes to a stop in front of Fonio, waiting to see what he'll say. He glances around the room before quickly turning back to the victor, feeling his anxiety building at their attention. "Well?" Fonio asks him before motioning him closer. "Come here."

Garth absentmindedly takes a step closer to the victor and once close enough, Fonio quickly reaches out and grabs on to Garth's hand, pulling him down onto his lap. He lets out a small noise of shock when the victor moves his hands to Garth's backside, giving a good squeeze before slipping under his shirt. "You know, I was disappointed when you weren't here when I arrived," Fonio whispers as he pulls the shirt off of Garth, taking his time to stare at his bare chest. Garth tries to clear his dry throat as his nerves reach a peak, both out of anxiety and anticipation for what will happen next.

Fonio leans over to start kissing his chest, causing him to take a sharp intake of breath as he trails up his collarbone. Maybe tonight won't be so bad… "No marks," Garth lets out quietly when he feels Fonio lightly bite at his neck. He can't let that happen. How will he ever explain to Harlow where that's from?

Fonio chuckles a little against Garth's neck before moving down to his collarbone, thankfully only kissing him. Garth shuts his eyes as leans a little closer into him and the victor tightens his grip on Garth's hips. "I'll pay you double if you let me give you one."

Garth's eyes shoot open at this, having to stare down at the victor in shock. He can't be serious. Double? From Fonio? He won't need to work for a week with that kind of money…

"I knew it!"

A cold chill runs down Garth's spine as he recognizes the voice and quickly pulls himself away from Fonio, having to fight against the victor's grip. _Please no, don't let it be her._ The sound of a struggle reaches him as he turns around, finding two of the girls holding back Kimbra at the door. One of the girls tries to whisper to Kimbra, probably assuming this is like any other time when a girlfriend finds their partner cheating on them here. Except this is so much worse than that for Garth.

His best friend glares over at him, tears running down her face as she angrily points her finger over at Garth. "You fucking cheater! How could you do this to Harlow?

Garth quickly stands up, tripping over Fonio as he tries to race towards the door. His breathing quickens as he fights off the growing pit of anxiety in his stomach, regretting ever coming to this place for work. He knew some day, someone would find out and ruin _everything_. "Kimbra!" He shouts over at her, needing to find some way to convince her that he's not cheating on Harlow. _Oh god, she's going to tell Harlow everything._ "It's not what it looks like!" Her terrible glare stops him halfway across the room as she stares down at his bare chest before glancing back at Fonio in the corner. "Okay it's not exactly what it looks like but I promise I have a good reason!"

Kimbra stares at him and Garth is all too aware of the growing tension in the silent room as everyone stares over at them. He takes a hesitant step towards her and she brings up her hand, stopping him instantly with her cold gaze. "I can't believe you would do this," Kimbra shakes her head and Garth's throat tightens as his vision starts blurring. Why can't his best friend believe him? Why can't she trust him, trust that he has his reasons for doing this? _Because he always has to lie to make people happy._

"Where are you going?" Garth starts stumbling over towards the door when Kimbra quickly turns around, slamming the door back open and storming outside. "Kimbra!" Garth shouts after her, tripping over his feet that can't seem to move fast enough to keep up with the fear slowly building in his stomach, slowly raising and making his throat tighten. If Harlow finds out…

Garth trips at the doorway, clutching the doorframe as he calls out once more for his best friend, desperate for an attempt to explain himself. Desperate for one chance to stop this before everything is ruined. "Kimbra!"

Garth takes a few steps outside, turning around quickly to find where Kimbra went. But his heart tightens when he catches sight of her with her arms around a small figure. "Harlow…"

Harlow lets out a sob when Garth takes a step towards him, finally making tears start to silently fall down Garth's cheeks. "W-w-why? And h-how could you do this to me?"

"Harlow," Garth whispers, voice cracking as he takes another step closer to Harlow, feeling his own heart breaking with every sob from him. Seeing him so broken, being held up by Kimbra… _God, how could Garth have every done this to him?_ "Please let me explain." Harlow only shakes his head at this and chokes out a sob when Garth holds out a hand to him. But when he doesn't say anything, Garth takes it as a small sign of hope that maybe, just maybe, Harlow will forgive him. "I promise I wasn't cheating on you."

"Bullshit," Kimbra interrupts him, holding Harlow even closer to her and farther away from Garth. "I saw you in there and what you were doing. And with Fonio? Of all people?"

"What were you doing?" Harlow whispers, voice shaking as he stares up at Garth, blinking away tears that are quickly replaced.

Garth stares back at him, silently begging for him to forgive him. Silently praying that Harlow won't leave him alone because Garth can't take that pain. Not after he just finally started dating the man he's loved for years. But mostly, he can't lose his best friend.

He lets out a heavy sigh, ready to explain himself when Harlow starts shaking his head. "No," Harlow whispers before repeating himself, voice raising and bringing with it a fresh wave of anguish. "No. I don't want to hear you try to explain why you were cheating." Harlow reaches into his pocket, struggling to get something out of it as Kimbra holds on to him, giving Garth a glare that he completely deserves. Harlow throws something at Garth's feet before shaking his head and taking a few steps back. "I _loved_ you. And this is how you treat me? Lie about going to sleep with other men?" Harlow tries to take a deep breath, only for it to get stuck and a sob escapes. "Goodbye, Garth."

"Harlow, please," Garth chokes out when Harlow turns his back to Garth, his body shaking with sobs as Kimbra turns back around to flip Garth off. There's no question about it, Garth has just lost the love of his life and his best friend…

The world starts to spin as Garth stares at the retreating forms of his friends, eyes unfocused as he legs grow week. Suddenly, his legs give out and he drops down to his knees, hunched over as he stares ahead with tears streaming down his cheeks. It's as if all at once someone has punched him in the stomach and ripped out his heart, leaving him with an emptiness that he doesn't think can ever be filled. And it's all his fault. All his fault for trying to get some extra money for his family and not just searching for more work in the fields. All his fault for lying to Harlow about where he was always going.

Garth's eyes absentmindedly turn towards the ground and the object that Harlow had thrown at his feet. He lets out a sob as his reaches towards the watch sitting there, running his fingers over the broken glass. The watch he had gifted Harlow just a couple hours ago. How did things change so quickly? How did he go from having everything to nothing?

It's all his fault that he's alone.

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Garth lets out a small sigh as he flips over the eggs, careful not to break the yolk as he slides them out onto six plates. Behind him, he can hear the quiet chatter of his siblings, tension high as they wait to head to the Town Square. Garth is also dreading it, knowing he's so close to being done with the Reapings for good. But his siblings still have years to go, and even Harlow has one more year.

With a shaking hand, Garth sets down the spatula and closes his eyes, fighting back the tears. Why can't he stop feeling this way? How many more months will he have to suffer before he can finally live with the biggest mistake of his life?

"Hey Garth, are you going to actually feed us or hog all the food for yourself?"

Garth opens his eyes, clearing his face of his pain before grabbing two plates and turning back to look at his siblings. Rylan stares over at him, arms crossed and scowl on his face. "I don't know why you even bothered making food for Mom. Not like she's going to eat it because she's so weak."

"Rylan!" Clover smacks their younger brother on the arm, only furthering his scowl. She stands up from the table, helping Garth grab the other plates and set them at four of the six spots. "So I'm going to invite Denny over for dinner tonight." Garth starts to frown at this and Clover starts shaking her head as she sits back down, picking up her fork to point at Garth with it. "Don't you dare say you're working tonight. It's Reaping day."

Garth wasn't going to say that, even if it is true… He wanted to say that he doesn't like Denny, but he can never bring himself to mention it to his sister. Whenever he tries to, all he can think about is how he used to treat Harlow like a king. That's how his sister deserves to get treated, not controlled like Denny tries to do. "I'm going to bring food to Mom and Gramps."

Garth starts walking with two plates towards the bedrooms, barely stepping aside in time to avoid Conway running into the kitchen. "I'll only wait five minutes until I eat your food!"

He tries to smile at his youngest sibling, but quickly turns away before they can see how forced it is. He continues towards the two closed doors, debating for a second which one he should go to first and which one will hurt more. He quickly makes up his mind and enters the door on the left, softly kicking it shut behind him. "Hi Gramps."

The man barely glances up from sitting by the window until Garth gets closer to him. The old man's eyes scrunch in confusion and Garth has to fight to keep the pain off his face at how much it hurts to see him like this. "Hello son…have we met before?"

"Once or twice," Garth answers with a sad smile and sets down the plate of breakfast. Gramps gives him a polite smile at it that Garth tries to return. "We have to leave soon for the Town Square."

"What for?" Gramps responds as Garth starts heading out of the bedroom, hating to see him this way. "What's today?"

"The Reaping," Garth says gently when he reaches the door, knowing he'll have to remind Gramps a few more times of what's happening today.

"Ah, yes," Gramps nods his head at Garth, looking as if he understands. But his face soon scrunches in confusion as he stares over. "And who are you?"

Garth turns to the door, unable to hide the pain at his own grandfather being unable to remember who he is. He takes a shaky breath before speaking up, keeping his back to Gramps. "Enjoy your breakfast, I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

Once he steps out of the room and shuts the door again, he leans up against it, trying to prepare himself for the more painful of the two options. He stares across the hall at the door cracked open, wishing he didn't feel the building resentment inside. If his mother wasn't like this, he never would have needed to start working extra…and he would still be with Harlow.

But it's not Mom's fault that Harlow left him, and it's not her fault that his father left her. So Garth takes a shaky breath and steps across the hall, pushing open the door slowly, trying to prepare for the sight in front of him, but knowing nothing he does will help. The first thing to hit him is the smell of alcohol in the air, followed by the sight of empty bottles on the small dresser next to the bed. His mother is curled up, gently snoring still and for once looking at peace.

Garth tries to quietly walk in, hating to ruin someone else being at peace again. He pushes aside empty bottles to place the plate down, grabbing an old one with food only half-eaten as he sits on the edge of the bed. "Mom," he says gently, giving her shoulder a nudge.

Slowly she blinks up at him with red eyes, gaze out of focus. _She's still drunk._ "What?" She croaks out, throat dry as she reaches out for water. Garth tries to hand her a glass, only for her to brush aside his hand for the liquor. He presses his lips together at this, fighting the urge to tell her that she's wasting away in here.

"Today's the Reaping," Garth says, unable to fight back all the resentment in his voice. Not that she'll even remember… "We need to leave in twenty minutes."

"Fine," she answers before taking a swig from the bottle, staring up at Garth with heavy eyes. "I hope none of you are picked. I can't have someone else leave me."

"We're not going anywhere, Mom," Garth answers with a heavy sigh as he stands up, unable to look down at the shell of a person compared to the woman who raised him. But talk of the Reaping has him anxious. He doesn't know that one of them won't get picked. Like most children, they've all taken tesserae, with Garth taking the most. But Garth can't get picked. He has too many people depending on him. He can't leave anyone behind.

* * *

 _Agapios Hallorian, Escort for District Ten_

If someone had told Agapios fifteen years ago before he started to escort that one day he would be excited to return to District Nine, he would have scoffed and responded that they must be thinking about a different Agapios Hallorian. He would have said that he was desperately waiting to get out of District Nine to a better District. One where there were often victors.

But that was fifteen years ago. Agapios has spent quite a few years escorting in Nine and realized how wrong he was to think that way.

He checks his watch for a fifth time, feeling anxious at not only the time approaching to start, but also the feeling of emptiness on his other wrist. He can't believe he forgot to put a second watch on to balance things out. If it wasn't for the fact that not having a watch to keep track of his schedule would have stressed him out more than being unbalanced, he would have just taken the damn thing off.

The second hand reaches the hour and Agapios smooths out the non-existent wrinkles in his sky blue suit before stepping out onto the stage, a slight bounce to his step. He can't help it when he sees the crowd out there. They're the reason he's stuck around here. All the other escorts keep telling him that it's useless and that District Nine won't get another victor anytime soon. Well, Agapios is going to show them they're all wrong. So yeah, maybe District Nine usually has underdogs. But Agapios loves supporting an underdog.

"Hello District Nine," Agapios says cheerfully at the microphone, smiling out at the crowd. _He has such a good feeling about this year. This is it. This is the year he gets District Nine a victor._ "As you all know at this point, I'm Agapios Hallorian and I'm honored to be back here." Agapios glances down at his watch, all too aware that he has a limited time to talk if he is to remain on schedule. He turns his attention back at the crowd, smiling to fight back the anxiety at just the thought of running late. "Well, I have a good feeling about this year. Shall we pick the tributes?"

Agapios heads towards the bowl for the female tributes, pausing for a moment to stare at the slips. _Come on, give me a good tribute._ He reaches in, taking a couple seconds to pick, just for the people back home. He grins over at a camera when he selects a slip and holds it up before turning on his heel to get back to the microphone. He can have a little fun…but not too much to the point of getting behind schedule. "Alright, District Nine, our first tribute this year is Gwenith Fornwalt!"

The escort stares out at the sea of girls, watching all of the ones at the front get various degrees of relief on their face when they realize they haven't been picked. No matter if the girl is younger, Agapios still believes in them. A minute passes and the crowd starts to murmur as the Peacekeepers start to move towards the back of the crowd, the delay adding to his anxiety. "Gwenith?" He asks, hoping it will draw the girl out.

The Peacekeepers find Gwenith in the very back of the crowd and start dragging her to the stage. The tiny girl starts twisting her head around, blonde curls swinging around, trying to look around at the crowd watching her. "Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything bad!" The Peacekeepers lift her up by her arms and her legs start kicking around as Agapios watches, feeling his good mood slowly deflate with each outburst from Gwenith. "This is a mistake. Mother!"

Gwenith is unceremoniously dumped on the stage and crumbles down, hugging herself as she looks up at Agapios with wide, innocent eyes that turn to fear as he crouches down and holds out a hand to help her up. "I haven't done anything bad. Why was I picked?"

Agapios's heart breaks at this but when Gwenith hesitantly takes his hand, fear still in her eyes, he pushes aside the sadness and replaces it with determination. He is not going to let this little girl down. While other escorts would have brushed her aside and counted her for dead, he's going to stand his ground. Once standing, he helps straighten out her oversized blue dress before putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to reassure her. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I promise."

At this, her eyes light up in wonder and she nods her head quickly at him, even giving him a tentative smile. The mood change is so sudden that Agapios doesn't quite know how to react…except for to check his watch. _Bad idea, they're behind._ He quickly clears his throat and turns back to the crowd. "Are there any volunteers?"

No one makes a move so Agapios quickly walks to the other bowl on the stage, selecting the first slip he can get as his stomach starts to tighten. He discretely wipes his sweating hands on his pants, trying to ignore the building anxiety at getting off schedule. "Alright, joining Gwenith is Garth Rycroft!"

As he stares out at the crowd, Agapios can't help but hope that Garth doesn't take long to come to the stage. Soon enough, a boy stumbles out of the very front, nearly tripping over his own feet as he stares up with a stunned look at the escort. But Agapios doesn't let this stunned reaction put down Garth's odds. He's seen victors – albeit, not in his District – that have had worse reactions to being reaped. Once Garth reaches him, Agapios holds out his hand and waits a few seconds until the younger man hesitantly takes his hand. "Welcome, Garth. Now, any volunteers for Garth?"

Agapios watches Garth stare out at the crowd, a pained expression filling his eyes when no one steps forward to volunteer for him. Agapios takes a deep breath as he takes a good look at both Gwenith and Garth. Complete opposite ends of the age spectrum, but no matter. That won't stop them from winning. "Alright District Nine, here are your tributes, one of which I _will_ bring back home as your victor. Gwenith Fornwalt and Garth Rycroft!"

As the crowd gives their obligatory crowd, Agapios glances back at his watch, smiling at the realization that he caught back up to schedule. _And he still has a good feeling about this year._

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

It hadn't set in until now, after saying goodbye to his family, that Garth will never see them again. What even are his odds of winning? Surely the career Districts are sending in their best… How can a weak boy like him fight them and survive?

Yet his family needs him. They'll be so broken without him. He can't just completely give up, as much as he wants to right now. Gramps can't work. Mother can barely get out of bed to take care of herself, let alone their entire family. They've been depending on him for two years now…he can't stop now.

 _But he just wants to give up now._

He's going to die in the arena. Garth has no doubt about it. He doesn't have any physical strength and he just doesn't know if he will have the will to kill someone. But he'll have to try…God, he'll have to try his best. He can't let his family down.

Garth lets out a loud sigh as he puts his head in his hands. He was so close to being done with the Reapings. Agapios could have called out any other name – _except for Rylan Rycroft_ – and he would be free to live his life. Free to live a life where he is constantly having to live with the shitty choices he has made to fuck up the one good thing he had.

Garth stares down at the floor, blinking back tears from his eyes. He's never going to get to make things up with Harlow…but he doubts the boy would want to see him again. Does Harlow even care that Garth was picked? Why would he care about the boy who broke his heart?

Garth lets out a shaky sigh, trying to hold back his tears. He can't let them see him broken before he even leaves the District. He can't let them see him already giving up.

That can wait until the arena.

A knock on the door makes Garth jump and he sits up, wiping at his eyes to erase any hints of his tears. Confusion courses through him as he calls out, voice cracking from trying to keep back sobs. "Come in."

Garth doesn't know who to expect. His family visited and left a while ago. Darcy, the one friend he hasn't disappointed also stopped by, half-heartedly telling him that he can win. Neither of them believed it, but still, they smiled and pretended everything was alright.

But it wasn't alright. Garth is about to go to the Hunger Games and standing in the doorway is the one person he's wanted to see more than anything.

"Harlow…" Garth whispers, barely able to hiding the fear in his voice. Fear that this will be the last time he ever sees the boy he loves more than anything.

Harlow slowly shuts the door behind him, yet stays close to it, hand resting on the doorknob. Garth can tell right away that Harlow is not here to forgive him and he doesn't blame the younger boy. Garth doesn't deserve his forgiveness. "Garth," Harlow quietly says to him, voice shaking as he blinks back tears. "Just…good luck."

Just as quickly as he showed up, Harlow leaves Garth behind to stare at the door, trying to memorize Harlow's face. Because there's no doubt that this will be the last time he sees him. But…deep inside, he gets the tiniest bit of hope that things could get fixed if he were to win. Not back to normal, but…close to what they had.

If Garth could actually win, that is.

Garth shakes his head as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out the broken watch he always keeps there. He runs his thumb over the broken face, the hands long since stopped working, set at the exact time when Garth lost everything. Does he have any chance of winning? If there is a chance…he has to do it to get back home and beg Harlow to forgive him.

Another knock startles Garth and he quickly tucks the watch away as a Peacekeeper enters the room. "It's time to leave."

Garth stands up, legs threatening to give out as he absentmindedly follows the Peacekeeper out of the room and towards his impending death. In the hallway, the girl who was Reaped with him – Gwenith – quickly turns around to look at him with terrified eyes. "What did you do?"

"What?" Garth asks as the small girl tries to stand as far away from him as possible, still staring at him with fear that he doesn't deserve. But her words have started a pit of anxiety in him. _What did he do? He ruined everything, that's what he did._

"What did you do to be picked?" Gwenith questions him, still keeping her distance as the Peacekeepers guide them down the hallway. He stares down at the young girl, squinting his eyes in confusion and wringing his hands nervously at this whole situation. "Mother said only bad people get picked for the Hunger Games."

Garth turns away from her, unable to face this little girl telling him that he's a terrible person. A little girl that is going into a fight to a death with him that they probably won't survive. She _can't_ survive if he's even to hope to make it out of the arena alive. _God_ he just wants to be anywhere but here. Somewhere where he can be with Harlow and not ruin everything.

But Gwenith is right. _He really is a terrible person._

* * *

 **Welcome back to another chapter! Big thanks to _HogwartsDreamer113_ for the angsty Garth, _SherlockedAtHeart_ for Gwenith, and _CelticGames4_ for Agapios! I sure hope I did them justice and thanks for being patient for me to write this!**

 **So yeah, I would say things will get better after this, but things are going to get worse in the next chapters. So have fun waiting for all those future feels! Hopefully it won't be as long for the next escort, I'm finishing up the semester in a week!**

 **RQ4: (and just a reminder, these give extra sponsor points!)** Hmm, so Garth keeps a picture of Harlow and Kimbra in his watch...what would you put a picture of in a watch you carried around all the time?

 **Alrighty, what did you think of sad Garth? What about Gwenith? And for those who read Overlooked, how do you like this look at Agapios prior to adding Wheatley to his name?**

 **I'll see you all soon!**


	10. District 4: Secrets

**Chapter 7:**

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

 _Two years before the Reaping_

With a heavy sigh, Muir kicks off her heels and sits down on the edge of the dock, rubbing her feet but it's no use. Standing around in the heels slightly too big for her for hours have caused nasty blisters to form, but she'll take the pain. She would take _any_ pain over the suffering she had to endure for hours this morning.

She pulls up the hem of her black skirt before dipping her feet into the cool water, cringing slightly as the salt water stings her blisters. But she keeps her feet in the ocean, swinging her feet as she stares out at the water, eyes getting blinded by the sun reflecting off the gentle waves. How can it be such a beautiful day? It seems unfair that the universe isn't also mourning with her. Everything she's had to deal with for the past year is unfair…

Muir puts her head down, twisting around the bracelets on her wrist as her eyes start to prickle again with tears. She puts up a hand, gently rubbing her forehead to fight off the headache that's starting to form from crying so much today. She can't do this on her own…

She knows she isn't really alone. The occasional sniffles from her aunt in the house behind her are enough for her to know that Muir isn't alone. But it sure feels like it. She doesn't have the one person she could always count on here anymore.

 _How can the universe be so unfair to make a sixteen-year-old bury their mother?_

Muir chokes out a sob and brings her feet out of the water so she can hug her knees, trying to get rid of the empty hole in her chest. She knew this day was coming. She's known for a year now that her mom was slowly dying. Slowly dying and refusing to let Muir stop training so she could afford some medicine to stop her illness.

"Why Mom…" Muir whispers out to the ocean before closing her eyes, trying to let the sound of the waves crashing on the shore calm her like they so often do. But the reason they always calmed her was because her mother would always join her, giving her a warm mug of tea and putting an arm around her, cracking a joke to cheer Muir up.

But no one is coming now. _There's no one left in Muir's life to come to her when she needs someone._

"It's all my fault," Muir shakes her head, causing tears to fall down onto her knees, slowly soaking into her dress. "If I wasn't training…you would still be here."

Muir opens her eyes and stares out at the horizon again, not seeing the water there. All she can see is the open casket, holding the one person Muir has ever loved. But that body was a shell of the woman who had raised Muir, withered away to half her weight, hair dull from the disease ravaging her.

A white gull swoops in front of her and lands in the water, almost splashing her. Muir had always hated the birds, yet her mother loved them, for some reason that Muir never understood. The bird tilts it's head as it stares at her and Muir blinks to clear her eyes, staring down at the bird in confusion. It lets out a caw before someone clears their throat from behind her. The bird takes off, taking away and flying west towards the horizon, leaving Muir to stare after it as a bit of peace slowly spreads out in her.

Muir quickly wipes away her tears as she glances back at the doorway to the house to see her Aunt Nora staring out, not trying to hide the tears she's been shedding as she packs up the house. Muir hadn't been able to handle it, watching her aunt mourn the loss of her sister, knowing that she was going to put a burden on Aunt Nora by having to live with her now. Muir also couldn't stand to look at the identical twin of her mother any longer. "Someone is here to see you."

Muir shakes her head as she turns back to the ocean, not wanting Aunt Nora to see her scowling. She just couldn't take any more people coming up to her, claiming to say they're sorry about her mother's death. But where were they when Muir needed help in taking care of her? "I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Well too bad."

Muir tenses up at the harsh voice, recognizing her mentor over at the training center. She had been avoiding the place since her mother's death, claiming she needed time to plan the funeral and mourn before she returned to training. But that was only half of the truth. She was also trying to figure out if she would even be able to continue training.

Okeanas Var plops down on the ground next to Muir, crossing her legs and staring out at the ocean with her for a minute in silence. "I'm sorry about your mother, that really fucking sucks."

It's about as close to Okeanas actually showing emotions that aren't brutal, and Muir raises an eyebrow as she glances over at the young victor. Muir has been lucky – although some days it might not seem like it when she gets her ass kicked over and over – to work with her. She was part of the reason her mother wanted her to start training in the first place, her and Amelia. If these two woman could train and win, getting a better life for themselves, why couldn't Muir do it to?

Okeanas shrugs her shoulders before glancing over at Muir. "I'm here because someone paid off the remaining two years of your training."

Muir gasps at this, turning to face Okeanas completely so she can study the victor's face, making sure she isn't pulling some cruel, twisted joke on her. Yet Okeanas' face is as serious as always. If her training is paid off…she can complete her mother's dying wish. Volunteer and become a victor. "Who?" She whispers, having no clue who would have done this for her. Her extended family doesn't have the money to afford this, not after already helping her pay for all the funeral arrangements.

"I have no fucking clue who this guy is," Okeanas answers and crosses her arm as she stares at Muir with narrowed eyes. "He was a beast and looked like he could beat most of our trainees in a fight. Also had reddish hair like you…"

Muir tenses up, staring at Okeanas with unfocused eyes. Could it…? Could he really still care?

Okeanas reaches into her pocket and pulls out a letter that she offers to Muir. "He asked me to give you this letter. I asked why he couldn't just do it himself, but the asshole wouldn't give me an answer."

Muir stares down at the envelope, her name written in messy handwriting. Okeanas waves it around, giving Muir a hard look that finally makes her reach out and take the letter with shaking hands. She holds it to her chest, unable to open it just yet as Okeanas' phone starts to ring. The victor sighs as she looks down at the screen, shaking her head and muttering to herself, "I can't leave for 20 minutes without them needing something. What is it, Leith?"

Muir half listens to Okeanas on the phone, mostly staring down at the letter in her hands. She's spent her whole life telling herself that she wouldn't know her father. And she was okay with it. She understood why he wasn't around. And if her mother didn't resent him putting duty first, why should Muir?

"What? Are you fucking kidding me?" Okeanas shouts and Muir cringes a little as she glances back over at the victor. She shakes her head as she listens to Leith on the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How the fuck did he injure himself on a mat? It's meant to protect you!" She lets out an annoyed sigh before continuing, "Fine, I'll be back in ten minutes. Try not to let him injure himself further."

Okeanas suddenly throws her phone out to the ocean and Muir watches with wide eyes as it splashes into the ocean, completely ruined. "Link Bashara injured himself, again." The victor stands up, scowl on her face as she stares down at Muir. "You have a week before I better see your ass back in the training center. If not, I'm giving that money to pay for someone else who wants to train more."

Muir nods her head in understanding and once Okeanas has her confirmation, the victor storms off to deal with the mess back at the training center. Muir doesn't doubt it, she'll be back in the center. She needs to keep going. She's put in too many years to stop now. She can't quit and stop her mother's dream. And Muir knows deep down that she's going to need this to keep her mind busy so she doesn't completely spiral into depression from losing her mother.

She looks back at the envelope, almost scared to open it and find out what is inside. What will Lukas even have to say? Surely it's from him. From the few stories her mother has told her…reddish hair, tall frame, and looking like he could take on anyone in a fight? There's no one else Muir can think of that would pay off her training.

Muir slips a finger under the edge of the envelope and slides it along, cursing when the paper cuts her. She brings the finger up to her mouth, trying to stop the bleeding as she pulls out the letter with her other hand. Right away, her brings her hand down to run her fingers over the words written, feeling the way the pen pushed into the page.

' _Daughter.'_

Muir quickly shuts her eyes as she feels tears forming, not having realized just how much she had wanted to hear her father say those words to her. Didn't realize how badly she needs him right now, even if she doesn't know him. Because he might be one of two other people who understands the pain Muir is going through right now at losing someone she loves.

She opens her eyes, struggling to read the letter through her tears. _'I want to start by saying I'm sorry I have not been around to watch you grow up. I hope Corinne explained to you why I couldn't be there. You may not believe this, but please trust me when I say I wanted to be there for you. But a Peacekeeper's life is supposed to be a lonely one. When I first met Corinne…things were different. We both could have been killed for being together. That was before Xavier became president. Now, things have become more laidback. There are rumors spreading that he might be changing that old law preventing Peacekeepers on active duty to have families.'_

' _But that will be too late for me.'_

' _I missed out on the chance to be a husband and father. I didn't get to see my little girl take her first steps. I didn't get to hug my daughter and kiss her injuries when she fell and hurt herself. I didn't get to raise my daughter.'_

Muir has to stop reading to choke out a sob at the letter. Why is the universe being so cruel to her? First taking away her mother and now telling her about the father she missed out on?

' _But I know Corinne did her best to raise you. I might not have been able to get to know you, but I watched you grow up. Perhaps you have noticed that there often is a Peacekeeper around you. Do you remember that time when you were six and some boy tripped you when walking home from school and a Peacekeeper stopped him?'_

Of course Muir remembers that moment. She had been so angry at that little prick that she was ready to punch him. But a Peacekeeper _had_ stepped in, grabbing his arm and telling him that if he did that again, he would spend the night in jail. The poor boy had peed his pants in fear, but Muir had gained new respect for the Peacekeepers that day. She even thought about someday becoming one.

She finds herself smiling at the memory, it only being improved now that she knows it was her father that day looking out for her. _'I hope you forgive me for not being around more. I've wanted to. I have less than three years left in my service to Panem. When that time has come…I hope you'll forgive me for being absent your whole life and we can try to make up for lost time.'_

' _But for now…I'm so sorry about Corinne. My heart is breaking with yours. I've loved her ever since I met her and there has never been anyone else for me. But there were a few times we talked and she told me about her dreams for you…so while it might not seem like much for me to do – who knows if you don't completely hate me at this point? – I went and took care of the remaining cost for your training. It's about as much as I can do for you right now while still on duty. I hope these eases some of the stress placed on your family and gives you something to keep working towards. While terrified to see you possibly volunteer someday…I'm proud of you. It's a big honor to compete in the Hunger Games. And I have utmost faith that you can win.'_

' _I'll keep watching over you until I can finally take off this uniform and be your father. – Lukas Oreste'_

By the time Muir finishes the letter, she can barely see the words any longer as tears stream down her cheeks. She holds the letter against her chest, smiling a little to herself despite the deep pain still inside her. She didn't know how much she needed this letter, to know that she isn't completely alone.

She carefully folds up the letter and puts it back into the envelope, finally starting to feel like she knows what she has to do. For the past year, she's been spirally out of control, desperately holding on to the life she grew up with as her mother grew sicker and sicker. She didn't know what she would do once her mother died and it had been terrifying. How is a sixteen-year-old supposed to deal with all of that?

But now? Things are clear. It still hurts _so much_ to think about her mother, knowing she will never see her smiling again or dance in the kitchen with Muir in the middle of the night just because they could. But maybe she can someday have a father. She has someone rooting for her, even if he can't openly show it.

And she doesn't want to let him down.

She doesn't need the week that Okeanas gave her. She'll be back in training tomorrow. For her mother, since she always wanted this. For her father, who is proud of her. And for herself…because she wants to prove to both of them that she is strong enough to fight through this and win.

"Muir?" Aunt Nora asks hesitantly from behind her and Muir stands up, brushing off her skirt and picking up her heels. Once standing, she takes a good look at her aunt, so different yet so similar to her mother. Where her mother had kept her dark hair long and always braided, Aunt Nora has kept it cut short. Her mother always wore heels, but Aunt Nora proudly accepts their short height. But her mother didn't have the dark circles and red eyes that Aunt Nora does.

Muir suddenly steps forward, pulling her aunt into a hug that both of them need. "What are you going to do?" Her aunt whispers to her, voice cracking with the pain of losing her sister.

Muir takes a deep breath, suddenly feeling terrified of her future and letting everyone down. "I'm going to not let her down."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Muir lets out a content sigh as she slips her toes into the sand, unable to care the she's going to ruin the bottom of her pants. She just needs this moment of peace… One last time of standing in the ocean, letting the sound of the waves calm her down before she goes off to the Games. Thankfully whoever designed Four put the Justice Building right next to the beach.

A few people are also out on the beach, able to enjoy the beautiful summer morning without fear for themselves or their children in the Reaping. Fear that Muir has taken away from them, and kept inside herself.

She rolls up the bottom of her pants before stepping into the edge of the waves crashing along the shore, walking along with her hands tucked into her pockets. She keeps her gaze down, not wanting anyone to see one of their chosen volunteers showing fear.

And why wouldn't she be a little afraid of today? She's not guaranteed to make it out of that arena alive. This is going to be the greatest challenge she's ever faced and there is a chance that she won't be successful. Despite working her ass off for years, there's still a chance she hasn't prepared for something. She certainly could have worked better at dealing with people…but oh well. She can't go back and change things now. If she could turn back time, how she trained would be the last thing she changed.

Muir tugs at the high neck of her blouse, feeling her throat getting tight at the thought of her mother once wearing this blouse. She should have been here to see this day. She should have been in the crowd, proudly cheering for Muir when she steps forward and calls out 'I volunteer'.

But at least she knows her father will be there, somewhere in the crowd. She might not be able to see him, but she knows he'll be proud of her. And Aunt Nora will cheer for her. Muir just hopes she won't let them down…

Muir glances down at her watch and sighs, knowing she should head over to the check in. She closes her eyes for a minute though, just taking in the waves crashing on her feet and the gulls crying out in the distance. _She's going to miss District Four so much._

But she supposes she'll just have to make sure she gets back home.

Muir shakes her head before opening her eyes, clearing her face of emotions as she starts walking back towards the Justice Building. This is it. The day she promised her mother she would reach.

As Muir gets closer to the edge of the beach and closer to other people milling about, a few people start to stare at her curiously. Rumors have spread throughout the District about the two volunteering today and just like Muir has done in the past, they're curious about the two.

Muir reaches the pavement and stops, brushing off as much sand as she can from her feet before slipping her sandals back on. Once she straightens up, she meets the stare of a mother standing with her hand on her daughter's shoulder, who must barely be Reaping age. When the woman gives Muir a smile, she has to quickly turn away so she doesn't see her eyes tearing up at the action. She doesn't deserve to receive these kind looks. She hasn't done anything to deserve it. All she's done is worked most of her waking hours towards volunteering.

"Muir!"

Muir lets out a tiny sigh at the excitement in Soren Lovette's voice as she starts walking towards the boy heading her way. He waves at her, almost bouncing on his feet as he comes to a stop in front of Muir. "Are you ready for this? I'm very excited about volunteering!"

"I can tell," Muir responds quietly as she continues walking towards the line forming for check-in, her soon to be District partner right by her side. She picks up her pace, trying to get away from his excitement, but he just keeps up with her. He's not a bad person…just too much for Muir to deal with.

"Can you?" Soren lets out a chuckle when they reach the end of the line. He rocks back and forth on his feet and Muir glances over at the boy, a little shorter than her. She raises an eyebrow at the dark circles under his eyes, not expecting him to get nervous about volunteering. "I could barely sleep all night because I was so excited and also a little nervous, mostly about going up on stage in front of all these people – oh! There are my friends. Well, good luck and I'll see you soon on the train!"

Muir watches him run off, shaking her head a little as she steps forward a bit. Soren is…something else, but Muir supposes there could be worst people for her to enter the arena with. She knows she can beat him in a fight, so no concern for her about him beating her and claiming the victory for Four.

Slowly, the line keeps moving forward, Muir keeping her gaze locked straight ahead so she can avoid all the stares coming her way. She hates the attention from them and wishes she could just be back at the beach, letting the water calm her.

"Oh my god!" A girl lets out a shrill scream and Muir's lip twitches in annoyance towards the screaming girls behind her. "He just pulled out his eye ball!"

Muir cracks a small smile at this as she glances back over her shoulder, only knowing of one person of Reaping age that could possibly pull out his eye. She had just spent the morning working with his older brother and Okeanas at the training center.

Link Bashara glances up from his hands, using the edge of his shirt to clean off the small wooden eye. He squints around at the girls who keep shouting about how gross he is before popping back the wooden eye in his socket.

"I'm gonna throw up," one of the girl says, covering her mouth with her hand and turning away from Link. The boy just keeps looking confused at why the girls reacted that way and Muir shakes her head as she turns back around, but not before seeing Link trip as he tries to catch up with the moving line.

But when Muir turns back around, she forgets about the accident prone boy behind her. As she gets closer to the front, she gets that deep feeling of someone watching her, which is dumb, considering a lot of people have been watching her today. But as she scans the crowd, her eyes land on a Peacekeeper seemingly staring at her. She recognizes the tall frame from one that she often sees, be it by the training center or when walking home. She watches them for a few seconds before they give the tiniest of nods and turns back to scanning the rest of the people gathering. Muir starts to smile at the man hidden by the mask and brings her attention back to the line she's in.

"What are you grinning about?"

Muir's smile quickly drops as she turns to face the tiny girl next to her, glaring up at her and arms crossed. If Muir hadn't fought against her and known just what she is capable of, the sight would almost be funny. But Rietta is the last girl she feels like dealing with right now. She _already_ dealt with her when the victors were deciding which one of them would be the volunteer this year. "Is the salt I smell in the air coming from the ocean or from you?"

Rietta's scowl gets even deeper as she takes a step closer to her, only making her have to strain even more to glare up at Muir. "I should be the one volunteering this year."

"But you're not," Muir answers as she turns back to the line, done with dealing with Rietta. "Okeanas made her decision and you must really be dumb if you're even thinking about going against her."

Rietta starts sputtering as Muir steps forward to have her finger pricked by the Peacekeeper at the front of the line. "Don't turn away from me!"

"Is there are problem?" The Peacekeeper who was staring at her steps forward, glancing back at Rietta with his hand resting on his baton.

Muir has to blink a view times to get rid of her surprise as she recognizes the voice from twelve years ago when her father said he stood up for her. "No, sir," she answers him quietly as she flinches slightly at the pain from the finger prick.

"Muir Barak?" The other Peacekeeper asks and Muir nods her head as she stares up at her father, wondering what he looks like under the helmet. She's only seen one fade picture of him from when he first met her mother…but she had told her many times that Muir looks very similar to him.

"You're all set," he says to her, motioning for her to move into the area. "Good luck today."

Muir nods her head again, whispering as she takes a step forward, "Thank you, sir."

As she steps past him, she so badly wants to turn back and take of his helmet, to say fuck it to the laws he has to follow. But instead, she keeps walking forward, knowing that she only has one more year left of him pretending. A smile starts to form once more as she heads to the very front of the crowd.

At least her guardian Peacekeeper is here to look out for her today.

* * *

 _Mari Sol, Escort for District Four_

Mari is so incredibly blessed to be in District Four. Well, she would be feel blessed to be in any District, but especially Four! She can hear the waves of the ocean and the sun is shining…how could she not be happy to be here?

Sure, she would have loved to be back in District Six with Dampero – he was her very first victor after all – but cute Belinda has things under control there. Well…maybe she's part of the reason she wants to be in District Six, but no matter, she'll see her in the Capitol soon!

Mari lets out a little giggle of excitement as she hears the mayor introduce her and throws her long teal hair over her shoulder. She got a new set mermaid sea shells this year – covered in sapphires! – and she wants to show it off. She carefully steps out onto the stage, her long skirt restricting her leg movement. But who cares, the sun is reflecting off the green scales and she can't help but smile about today.

"Good morning District Four!" Mari cheerfully says to the crowd, clasping her hands in front of her to keep them from shaking in excitement. The crowd responds with some applause, only making her smile grow. She just loves being in a District that's almost as excited about the Games as she is. And she doesn't think she ever wants to leave this place. "I'm Mari Sol and can I just say, what a beautiful day it is!"

"As much as I want to stay out here and enjoy your District, we do have a schedule to follow. We'll just have to bring you back a victor so I can return soon," Mari winks at the crowd, getting a few cheers at her statement of bringing home a victor. Mari glances back on the stage, grinning happily at the most recent victors, especially Okeanas… _She's like a tanned, beautiful goddess!_ Mari turns back to the crowd, still smiling and started to get excited about what volunteers their might be this year. "No more waiting, let's see who our tributes are!"

Mari takes quick, tiny steps over to the bowl filled with slips for the girls, taking a moment just to stare at them in wonder. _Who will she pick?_ Mari's too impatient to take her time and quickly selects a name and runs back to the microphone, letting out a tiny scream of excitement and clapping her hands. "Alright District Four! First up is…Rietta Bann!"

Mari waits a few seconds, searching throughout the crowd before a girl steps forward from the front, staring around at the crowd, sending glares at the people around her. From her fit physique, Mari can't help but wonder if this is one of their trained tributes. "Hello Rietta!" Mari motions her over to the center of the stage before grinning out at the crowd. "Now of course, I do have to ask if there are any volunteers!"

A few long seconds pass before a voice calls out at the front of the crowd those two words that Mari loves hearing every year. "I volunteer!"

"Lovely!" Mari claps her hands as the girl steps out from among the eighteen-year-olds, keeping her head held high as she straightens out her white blouse and tucks her hands into her pant pockets. A Peacekeeper steps forward to escort her up to the stage and the girl briefly glances over at them before walking up the stairs. Once up on the stage, Mari has to shoo the other girl off as she glares at the volunteer. But the red head pays no attention to this, instead just giving a shy smile. "And what is your name?"

"Muir Barak," she answers, keeping her voice steady as she turns to face the crowd, staring out at them as the cheer for her.

"Wonderful! Now, shall we pick our male tribute?" Mari asks, getting a few shouts of affirmation from some of the people in the crowd. Mari hurriedly makes her way to the opposite bowl, almost tripping on her mermaid skirt in her haste to pick another tribute. Once she has a slip, she picks up the end of her skirt to get back to the microphone quicker. "Okay and our male tribute is Lincoln Bashara!"

A boy steps out of the seventeen-year-old section, looking around with a mildly surprised expression. When he brushes back his shoulder length brown hair, Mari lets out a little gasp in shock at the jagged scar across his left eye and the dark wood sphere replacing his eye. Lincoln grabs on to the rail on the stage steps and starts walking up them and Muir can just stare at his eye in shock.

 _Snap!_

The wood snaps and suddenly Lincoln slips, tumbling back down the few stairs he had walked up. "Oh no!" Mari says and covers her mouth in shock as Peacekeepers rush over to help him up. One grabs his arm and he brushes off his black slacks as they help him up the stairs. Once on the stage, he sheepishly smiles down at her. "Are you alright?"

"I've had worse," he responds with a shrug and a small chuckle as he points up to his wooden eye. Up close, the scar is terrible looking, jagged, raised, and pink, still looking fresh.

Mari nods her head and turns away, still uncomfortable by Lincoln. "Okay are there any volunteers for- _what are you doing?_ "

Lincoln – _God help her_ – has pulled out his wooden eye, keeping his eyelid closed as he wipes the wood on his shirt. He looks up at her in confusion, shrugging once more. "I had to make sure no dirt got in there when I fell."

Mari shakes her head, turning back to the crowd and feeling a little queasy when she can see him put the eye back in out of the corner of her eye. "Now, as I was saying, are there any volunteers for Lincoln?"

Mari stares out at the crowd, waiting for someone to come up and take Lincoln's place. Yet no one is stepping forward and the boys start to look around in confusion. "No?" Mari asks, hoping that the boy will get his courage. This is just so unusual in District Four since she moved here three years ago… But no one calls out. "Well, alright then… Your tributes this year are Muir Barak and Lincoln Bashara!"

As the crowd cheers for them, Mari here's something slam against the stage and glances behind her to see Okeanas standing up, her chair knocked over behind her. The victor glares out at the boys and Mari has to force her smile to stay on her face. She has never seen Okeanas this mad… _this is going to be a very uncomfortable train ride._

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Muir stands at the window, staring out at the ocean, wanting to memorize everything about it. Don't get her wrong, she fully plans on returning. But she wants to be able to recall this sight when things get tough in the arena.

 _The arena…_ She's finally done it. She reached the goal she's worked towards for years. _I hope you're proud, Mom._

Muir lets out a sigh when there's a knock on the door but still smiles when she turns around and sees Aunt Nora there. It's just so bittersweet to know that her mother isn't here to say goodbye. Aunt Nora walks over right away and brings her close, rubbing her back comfortingly. "I know she's looking down and she's so proud of her, Mu."

Muir smiles sadly at her childhood nickname and pulls her aunt closer to her, trying to pretend that she's hugging her mother. But it's impossible to do when just the smell of her aunt is completely different. Muir sighs as she lets her go, turning back around to stare out at the ocean again. Aunt Nora joins her, slipping her hand into Muir's and holding it tight. "I'll be honest. I'm a little scared right now."

"I would call you crazy if you weren't scared," Aunt Nora answers with a light chuckle. Muir can see her turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, but she keeps her gaze trained outside. Aunt Nora reaches up and brushes a piece of hair back behind Muir's ear. "Being scared is good. It means you aren't about to rush in and do something stupid."

"But volunteering kind of _is_ a stupid decision," Muir counters, making her aunt laugh loudly. "I mean, I just volunteered for a fight to the death."

"Yes," Aunt Nora starts and Muir finally turns to look at her, getting a kind smile from her aunt. "One that you are very prepared for and have worked your butt off for years towards. You're going to win, Muir. I have no doubt about it."

But Muir has some small doubts…but now is not the time to focus on that. Now's the time to make sure she focuses on getting back home. She has to get home when her father will be finishing his duty soon. "Did you ever meet him?"

"Who?" Aunt Nora asks as she stares up at Muir before realizing who she's talking about. Someone she never brings up. "Ah, Lukas…no, he was the one secret Corinne was able to keep from me. But the way she talked about him…" Aunt Nora turns to look at the window and Muir stares at her, watching her eyes start to water. "You could tell he meant the absolute world to her. She loved him, and he loved her."

Muir nods her head at this, not quite knowing how to answer that. But a bit of her fear fades away, replaced with another piece of motivation. She truly wants to get to know this man.

There's a knock on the door and Aunt Nora sighs as the door opens, revealing a Peacekeeper. "Times up," he says and Muir tightens her grip on her aunt's hand. _It can't be…_

Aunt Nora hugs her again, interpreting Muir's reaction as fear of her leaving. "I believe in you, sweetie. I'm proud of you." She steps back and reaches up, squeezing Muir's cheek like she did when Muir was a child. "Now go knock 'em all dead."

Muir smiles at this and watches her aunt leave the room. But the Peacekeeper doesn't; instead, he closes the door behind Aunt Nora. Muir watches carefully as he takes a hesitant step forward, reaching up to take off his helmet.

Muir knows right away who he is, recognizing so many of her own facial features. From the reddish brown hair to the green eyes, the way his one cheek indents slightly as he smiles at her to the crinkles by his eyes. "Hi Muir…"

"Lukas," Muir whispers, unsure what else she should say right now. What is she supposed to when she's officially meeting her father for the first time? His smile drops at the use of his first name and Muir takes a step closer, staring up at him in uncertainty. "Father?"

At this, Lukas grins, his eyes even tearing up as he steps over to Muir. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that." He reaches out, ready to put his hand on her shoulder but stops a few inches before touching her, giving her a look of uncertainty. Muir gives him a small smile and nods her head, and he sets his hand down, squeezing it gently. At that, the walls Muir has tried to keep up for years whenever thinking about him break and she steps closer, awkwardly hugging him around his armor. "I don't have much time. But I had to see you before you left. Just once without this stupid helmet on."

"Thank you," Muir whispers, holding him close as her eyes start to prickle with tears.

"Do you have a token?" Lukas asks as he leans back, just enough to stare at her face as she shakes her head. He smiles at this and reaches into a small pouch on his armor. "Good, I have something I want you to take with you. I bought this years ago…" He holds out a small chain, a gold band lined with tiny diamonds hanging from it. Muir takes a step back to look up at this man, holding out her hand hesitantly for it. "About 18 years ago, to be exact. I always knew I wanted to marry your mother, once I was done serving Panem. She was the only woman for me and she'll stay that way forever."

At that confession, tears slip down Muir's cheeks as memories fill her of her mother talking fondly of him, still so clearly in love. Aunt Nora's words echo in her head, _'She loved him, and he loved her.'_

Lukas awkwardly tries to wipe away the tears with his gloves, "First time talking to you and I made you cry. Not exactly what I imagined."

"She never stopped loving you," Muir whispers as she closes her hand around the small ring.

Lukas pauses at this, his face shifting from happiness to deep despair right in front of her. "I never stopped loving her either." He lets out a sigh and glances back at the door before turning back to Muir and smiling sadly at her. "I have to go before they start questioning me. But Muir…"

"Yes?"

"Please make sure you get home."

* * *

 **Wow, two updates within a few days of each other? Crazy how much writing I get done while procrastinating studying for finals haha. But anyways! Muir and Mari in this chapter are my kiddos and Link belongs to _Little Knight Mik_! Mik, I hope you enjoyed all the chaos your unlucky son experienced in this chapter haha.**

 **So yeah, I want to know what you think about Muir! She was a tribute idea that I had came up with for a submission, but I got too busy and was never able to finish her form. But I'm happy she now has a home here :) I just really enjoyed exploring the idea of how Peacekeepers aren't supposed to have families. And why not throw in a Tragic Backstory (TM) too?**

 **RQ#4: What dumb way would you injure yourself in training? Honestly, I would probably injure myself by tripping over a mat like Link did haha.**

 **Alrighty, hopefully I'll keep having this motivation and get the next intro out soon! We'll be heading to District Eight with another one of my tributes! See you soon!**


	11. District 8: Loyalty

**Chapter 8:**

 _Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight_

 _Five months before the Reaping_

Despite the stress and high stakes of what needs to get done, Kilroy just has a good feeling about tonight. How can she not have a little fun when she gets to go to a party with her best friend, maybe flirt a little with some other people, and end the night with putting a black mark in Blaise Janek's reputation? A totally normal night for a teenage girl, right? Well…one of those things isn't quite like the others. _But it_ sounds _like her perfect Friday night._

Kilroy shifts into a different yoga position, stretching out her stomach and pausing to take a bite of her apple. She watches the gang sit at a table, playing a round of poker and laughing at each other. She shakes her head at them before tossing her apple core at Faustus's head. The man stands up, towering over the other people there. He crosses his arms at Kilroy, the action making his tattooed muscles more prominent. "Did you just…throw an _apple core_ at my head?"

Kilroy shrugs before shifting into downward dog, hiding the smirk on her face as Faustus tries to pretend he's angry. "Maybe," she mutters before trying to hold back some laughter. "We're supposed to be preparing for tonight, not playing cards."

Faustus roars in laughter at this as Kilroy stands up, brushing off her clothes before looking over at the table. Faustus is grinning at her, trying to get her to crack a smile. And it's almost working, so she narrows her eyes at him, fighting to stay cool and collected. "Just because you don't know how to have some fun doesn't mean the rest of us can't have some to relax."

"I do know how to have fun!" Kilroy crosses her arms at him, still struggling to fight off a smile, especially when he just raises an eyebrow at her. It's clear he doesn't believe her – and he's right not to – but she isn't giving him the satisfaction of knowing he's right. So she turns her attention to the table and gives her second in command a slightly pleading look. "Drusa, help me out here."

The girl gives a shrug and a small smile at Kilroy before glancing back down at her cards. "I don't know, Luciana. I guess you do have fun punching people. But that's about it for what you do for fun."

Kilroy groans at the use of her real name – even if Drusa is the only one she would allow to call her it – and heads over to the table, taking the empty chair and spinning it around before sitting so she can rest her elbows on the back of it. She's about to start teasing them before she takes a good long look at the group around her, growing serious as she thinks about what they're doing tonight. As always, she's silently hoping that nothing will happen to them tonight. She'll never tell them that – Faustus would never let her hear the end of it – but she is too concerned about them, against her will. She wasn't supposed to care for them.

She wasn't supposed to care about resentful Vex, who sits with her feet propped up on the table as she uses a knife to pick dirt out from under her nails. She wasn't supposed to care about the big and tough goofball Faustus, who tries to use the distraction to peek at Sabina's card, earning a slap on the wrist that only makes him laugh. She wasn't supposed to care about Sabina either, the youngest addition to their group, but an essential member, who looks over her notes now that Faustus is done trying to cheat. And she especially wasn't supposed to care about Drusa, her second in command, who smiles over, looking cute as she waits for her word.

And yet she does. But they'll never know that. No one wants to follow a leader who gets sappy and emotional. Kilroy certainly wouldn't want to.

"Alright Drusa," Kilroy finally says once she knows she has everyone's attention. "Go over the plan again. I don't want anything going wrong."

"Right away, boss lady!" Drusa nods her head and Kilroy tries to ignore the way it makes her long hair fall into her face, but she still cracks a grin at being called boss lady. "Everyone obviously knows that Blaise Janek is hosting a party tonight. Our mission is to plant this incriminating letter into the coat pocket of Theordore Clarson. The note," Drusa pulls the carefully created letter out of her own jacket, "Is going to be the evidence needed to bring in Blaise's cousin to jail, taking out another of important member of his campaign and damaging his appearance."

"Don't forget who is doing what," Kilroy says quietly, getting an eye roll from Drusa that she answers with a wink, making the girl get the faintest flush on her face that Kilroy starts smirking about. If she wasn't stressed about the plan for tonight, she would have gladly spent more time trying to get similar flushes from Drusa.

"I was about to get to that, you're so impatient," Drusa teases her and Kilroy simply shrugs, knowing it's true. Drusa pulls out a different piece of paper, this time a detailed map of Blaise's mansion. "Alright, Vex and Faustus are backup outside but more importantly, our getaway people. Vex will be there on foot, mainly as lookout. Faustus, my man," Drusa pauses to give the large man a fist bump, grinning at him before continuing, "You are our main getaway, waiting out in this side alley here for us."

Drusa starts pointing at the map, but Kilroy finds herself staring at the girl instead, watching the way her eyes light up in excitement at explaining her plans. Hard not to watch her get all happy when she starts talking faster or points wildly at all the places, all while grinning about the crazy and elaborate plan that she came up with. Man, Kilroy has it so bad. Drusa just has that effect on her, despite Kilroy swearing off ever dating to avoid that person getting used against her.

"Are you even paying attention, Kilroy?"

"Of course I am," Kilroy says quickly, fighting to keep a straight face on as Drusa stares at her, clearly not believing a single word she just said. When Drusa slowly raises an eyebrow at her, silently accusing her of not paying attention, Kilroy can't help the smile forming. "I promise I'm paying attention."

She's not lying. She is paying attention to Drusa. Just not in the way her second in command assumes. At least, Kilroy really hopes Drusa doesn't know. God that would mess up so many things in the gang. Just look at Vex and how messed up she still is, and Corvo's been gone for years.

Drusa watches her for a few more seconds, her lips just barely turning up in a smile before she shakes her head and turns back to the others. Kilroy holds back a chuckle as she puts her hands behind her head, watching her second go over the remainder of the plans. "One last thing we need to do before we head over. This is a black tie affair so you know what that means."

Vex rolls her eyes at this and starts shaking her head at them, "I'm so fucking glad I'm on backup and don't have to get all dolled up."

"Oh come on, Vex," Faustus tries to teasingly grab on to Vex's hair but quickly gets smacked away by her. "You might even look pretty for once if you tried."

"Fuck off," Vex punches him in the arm and tries to hide the fact that punching him hurt by keeping her fist under the table, but Kilroy can still see her rubbing her knuckles. Faustus couldn't be less bothered by getting punched, starting to laugh loudly at her reaction.

Kilroy just shakes her head at them before looking over at Drusa, finding her second starting to look nervous about tonight. "Hey, no stressing. You came up with an awesome plan. We're going to be fine."

"I sure hope so," Drusa answers as she starts folding up her papers, occasionally flicking her gaze back up to Kilroy. "I worry, okay? One of us needs to be worried about our plans."

"And I appreciate that," Kilroy says, being genuine towards Drusa. But she then looks around at the others and starts to get a shit grin in excitement about tonight. Hard not to when they've been planning this out for weeks. "Let's go get fancy at Rami's shop and then fuck up Blaise."

* * *

Kilroy adjusts her long brown wig as they enter Rami's shop, the little bell at the door tinkling at their entrance. Maybe the wig wasn't necessary for now, but Kilroy didn't want to take chances of being recognized.

She grins over at Drusa, wearing a cute blonde bob, as footsteps approach them as they begin looking among the designer clothes. "Ladies, I hate to disappoint you but it is almost closing time. And I cannot stay late as I have plans for tonight that I'm unable to cancel."

"Oh we're just picking up an order," Drusa says to the victor, giving them a smile when they raise an eyebrow at this, no doubt questioning how these three young girls have managed to purchase clothes from them.

"In that case, follow me," Rami motions for the three girls to follow them further into the shop. "What's the last name on the order? I recognize you from being here before, but I can't remember the name."

Kilroy glances over at Drusa, knowing she was in charge of this. Not because she couldn't handle it, but she'd much rather Drusa handle it, being the more organized of the two. "O'Connor."

Kilroy, Drusa, and a slightly awestruck Sabina stop in front of the counter as Rami slips behind it, starting to rummage through the rack with their designer clothes hanging from it in plastic bags. "O'Connor…O'Connor," they mutter to themself until they finally reach the three bags tied together for them. "Ah! Here we are," they turn around, gently draping the clothes over the counter. Rami takes a moment to study them and the clothes they're buying, seemingly in disbelief that these three girls are buying some of their most expensive designs. "I've been having quite a few pickups today for that big party happening tonight." They shake their head and roll their eyes as they prop their elbow up on the counter and start resting their chin on their fist. "I can't even tell you how many people tried to convince me to go."

"Are you going?" Sabina asks timidly and Kilroy spares a quick glance over at her, wondering how the girl could even think that Rami wants to go to the party. It's obvious from their tone that they want nothing to do with it.

Rami scoffs at this loudly, even letting out a chuckle to show just how ridiculous they think the question is. "My dear, I have way better things to do in my spare time than go to a party and get dragged around by people wanting to show off that they 'know' the victor Rami Grant." Rami shakes their head once more and rolls their eyes, "No thank you, I have enough of that in the Capitol. Now," they glance at the girls' appearance, once again seemingly not believing that they have the money to afford their designs.

Kilroy slaps a hefty bags of coins on the counter, watching Rami raise a single eyebrow at her. _Thank you Uncle Cassio for the money._ "Here's the payment for the three outfits. Now, can we use the changing rooms?"

Rami opens the bag and starts counting the coins, absentmindedly nodding their head, "Sure, sure, it's in the back…" The girls start taking the bags before Rami looks up at them suddenly in disbelief, "Wait, I heard motorcycles before you arrived…You cannot seriously be about to wear my clothes to a party on a motorcycle."

"Oh we are," Kilroy responds casually as she finds her pant suit easily among the two dresses for Drusa and Sabina. She starts making her way to the dressing room, sparing a glance back at the stressed out victor, even letting out a short laugh at their reaction. "It will be proof that your clothes are superior to everyone else's if they hold up."

* * *

"Sabina, can you please hurry up?" Kilroy harshly whispers, glancing around the doorway into the hallway, growing more anxious with each minute. She couldn't shake the gut feeling that something was going to go wrong tonight from the moment they arrived at the party. There had been way more security than normal at one of Blaise Janek's parties. Because of that, it had taken a lot longer than usual for them to be able to slip away from the crowd and make their way to their target, something that has only been adding to Kilroy's concern. "I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should have just bailed and tried again another day."

"I'm trying!" Sabina says back, her own frustration growing just as quickly as Kilroy's as she tries to pick the lock on Clarson's briefcase. "Stop rushing me and I'll get it!"

"Hey," Drusa says quietly, approaching Kilroy and placing a hand on her back in an attempt to calm her down. And it does for a brief moment when Kilroy looks at Drusa. "We're going to be fine."

"I keep having this feeling that something's going to go wrong," Kilroy whispers back to her, hearing her fear start slipping into her voice against her will. God, why does she care about them so much? She can't handle the thought of something happening to one of them.

"Stop worrying," Drusa gets a wicked smile on her face and hikes up the skirt on her dress, revealing the pistol strapped onto her thigh. "If something happens, I got us."

Kilroy raises an eyebrow, impressed that Drusa managed to get the gun inside, despite all the security checks. And seeing her all dressed up and still carrying a gun… _damn_ , if Kilroy wasn't supposed to be keeping watch right now, she would have kissed the girl. _Maybe later._

"Got it!" Sabina says triumphantly as Kilroy starts to feel her face heating up at her thoughts towards Drusa, leaving her grateful for the distraction from Sabina. She needs to be focused on this mission, not her crush on Drusa that's just a very bad idea. Her and Drusa both look over in time to see Sabina slip in the letter and shut the briefcase quickly. "Let's go."

Kilroy holds out her arm to stop the two from running out into the hallway, taking the time to slowly glance out. Once she confirms it's clear, she leads them out, not letting one of them take the fall if someone were to see them here. "You know the plan," she whispers to them, putting her arm around Drusa as part of the 'act'. Well…it wasn't too hard for Kilroy to act as if she's Drusa's date. "Sabina, you slip out through the kitchens and meet Vex in the alley. We're slipping out the front, claiming Drusa had a bit too much to drink and needs to get home."

Sabina nods her head obediently and starts to turn away, before glancing back at them. "Be safe."

"You too," Kilroy answers quietly before Sabina slips away from them, easily blending into the crowd. She should be more concerned for sending the youngest of their group off on her own, but her innocent face will keep her out of trouble. That and being smart enough to talk her way out of anything. "Alright dear," Kilroy says to Drusa, getting a little bit of a scoff from her at the nickname, "Let's get you home since you're not feeling well."

They make their way into the crowd easily, blending in with the other party guests. Drusa does her best to act out the part of a person not feeling well as Kilroy scans the crowd nervously. As they get halfway through the main foyer, she can see the large amount of security gathered at the front door, searching each guest leaving thoroughly. "They're on to us," she whispers nervously, almost stopping walking in the middle of the room. She has no doubt in her mind that they somehow know about them and they're searching for them.

"Can we use the restroom? I'm really not feeling well," Drusa says to her tugging her slightly in the direction of the bathroom. Kilroy glances down at her, feeling her nerves calm just a little at Drusa's face. _She has a plan_.

"Of course," Kilroy says quietly as they begin making their way to the side of the foyer, Kilroy still anxiously watching the security in the room. As they get closer to the bathroom, she catches sight of a few people looking their way and starting to walk quickly towards them. "Go!" She shouts at Drusa and pushes her to start running the remaining few yards into the bathroom.

They make it inside and Kilroy slams the door behind them, just as people start banging on the door. Drusa quickly locks the door and Kilroy moves away, just to grab a chair – seriously, who has chairs in a bathroom? She'll never understand rich people – to stick under the handle and keep them away a bit longer. "I really hope you have a plan," she says to Drusa as she watches the door as people start slamming their body against it, hoping that the chair will hold them off long enough for them to get out.

"Of course I do," Drusa answers confidently and Kilroy turns around to find her at the window. She takes off one of her shoes and smashes open the window, quickly clearing the remaining glass. "It's going to be a tight fit but it will do."

Kilroy stares at the open window, trying to figure out what would be the worse danger for Drusa: remaining in the bathroom or going into the alley first. She quickly makes up her mind and races to the window, barely taking the time to glance out before hoisting herself through it. She lands on the broken glass, quickly glancing around to see if there's anyone out here. At the end of the alley, she can see Faustus waiting by the motorcycles, grabbing on to his gun and getting ready to protect them. "Let's go, Drusa," she turns back to help her friend through the window, her stupid dress getting caught on the broken glass.

Kilroy yanks Drusa through, both of them letting out a sigh of relief at getting out of there, just before a loud bang pierces the air. Drusa gasps and falls into Kilroy, desperately clutching on to her. Kilroy frantically grabs on to her, her hands getting covered in blood pouring out of the gunshot wound on Drusa's back. "No!"

Drusa nearly collapses, only held up by Kilroy as she hears footsteps starting to run through the alley. "No, don't you dare die on me!" She shouts as her eyes start blurring with tears. Damn it, she can't lose the one person she cares about. "Drusa, _please!_ "

"There they are!"

"Go," Drusa whispers, falling to her knees as Kilroy starts shaking in fear and can no longer hold her up. "You have to go or they'll get you too."

"I can't leave you," Kilroy answers as Drusa presses something into her hand before feebly trying to shove her away. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Kilroy, we have to go!" Faustus shouts as he starts running towards them, firing off his own gun towards the security racing towards them from the other end. A few scream out in pain from his shots, but Kilroy can't focus on that. She should be running away, protecting herself from also getting killed.

But all she can do is stare down at her best friend and the love of her life dying in her arms.

"Please go," Drusa whispers to her, voice shaking as tears slip down her cheeks from the pain of the wound, matching the ones Kilroy feels falling down her face from the pain of watching Drusa dying. "I don't want you to die too."

"You can't die on me. I can't lose you," Kilroy whispers futilely as Faustus reaches her, grabbing her arm and yanking her away from Drusa. "No! Let me go!" She shouts at him, trying to fight against him to run back to Drusa and save her.

"Shut up or we're all going to die tonight," Faustus roughly picks up Kilroy and throws her over his shoulder, done with her trying to run back to Drusa. Gone is the man who was joking around earlier, leaving behind a man who will do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about, except for letting Kilroy run back to Drusa. Faustus keeps firing shots back at the security as he starts running back to the motorcycles.

Kilroy finally gives up at resisting him and finds herself going numb as she opens up her fist and stares down at the bracelet in her hand, containing the small little black pendant. She chokes out a sob at it, hating that Drusa gave it to her and gave up on living. _Drusa's sign of being part of their gang._

Faustus unceremoniously dumps her onto the motorcycle, sitting behind her to keep her from falling off. He quickly gets it started and Kilroy glances back down the alley, finding Drusa on the ground, staring over at them with the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

But standing over her is a man who is going to pay for taking away the only person Kilroy ever cared about. Martinus Dorvin, the head of Blaise's security, watches them as they starting driving away, glaring over at them until he can no longer see them.

The alley quickly slips away and Kilroy wraps her arms around herself, choking out a sob at the gaping hole in her chest left by leaving Drusa behind. Everything in her is screaming to go back and kill all of them, do _anything_ to bring back Drusa. But she's gone. There's nothing Kilroy can do to change that fact.

But she won't stop until she gets her revenge.

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

One more day. Only one more day until Kilroy is finally going to beat the shit out of Martinus Dorvin. God, she can't wait for that moment after months of planning and holding in all this rage. Holding in all the guilt that she could have done more to save Drusa.

But first, one more day of standing and waiting around through one more stupid Reaping. What a waste of her fucking time. She had much better things she could be working on.

Like making sure that the literal biggest piece of trash Martinus Dorvin gets beaten within an inch of life by her and then rots in a jail cell for the rest of his pitiful life.

Soon.

Kilroy taps her fingers on her thigh as she reaches the back of the surprisingly short line to check into the Reaping with Sabina, trying not to feel worried for the younger girl's fate. She doesn't want to even start thinking about what she would do if Sabina was picked today. She couldn't bear to lose another member of the gang, especially now that Sabina has stepped up as second in command. Would Kilroy volunteer for her? Probably. She doesn't think she could handle the guilt if she didn't and knew she could.

But that's if the unlikely thing happens and Sabina is picked. Cassio has enough weight in the District to stop them from being picked.

"You're scaring everyone with your face," Sabina whispers to her, letting out a small laugh, but Kilroy can't bring herself to laugh. She hasn't been able to laugh in five months…

"Good," Kilroy answers as they take a few steps forward, glaring around at the crowd around them, scoping out for any threats like always. "I enjoy my resting bitch face."

Kilroy can just see out of the corner of her eye Sabina shaking her head at her as they get closer to the front of the line. "I don't understand why you're as cold as ice."

Kilroy glances over at her, raising an eyebrow slightly as the only show of emotion that she'll allow. Maybe if she doesn't show anything, she won't actually get the feelings that will wreck her again if something happens to her. "Thank you."

"Thank you?" Sabina starts laughing as there's commotion by the boy in front of them arguing with the Peacekeepers. "It wasn't a compliment."

Kilroy glares at the boy's back – hard not to when that's right at eye level for her – at him holding things up as he points over to the side, waving his other hand in excitement. "I can't go through yet! Don't you see the stripy winged tiger that just came through the portal?"

"Fucking hell," Kilroy mutters under her breath, almost ready to push this kid out of her way. "I hate children."

"Iannis Lyam, get moving or we will force you to your spot," the Peacekeeper sitting at the check in desk says to him, somehow stay calm in the face of the kid possibly going off the rails.

"Beat it, kid," Kilroy says and pushes him out of her way, holding her hand out to the Peacekeeper so she can get this stupid thing over with. She just wants to be done with the Reapings forever and spend her days focused purely on the gang.

Iannis stumbles forward at her push, turning back with a concerned look on his face. "This person is very bad! I must leave before the bad person opens a portal to summon the demons!" He starts racing off towards his section, still yelling back and laughing as he joins his two friends waiting for him. "The demons will never get me!"

"Weird ass kid," Kilroy mutters as the Peacekeeper pricks her finger to check her identity. She gets a brief bit of anxiety at it, hating that they have this information about her. If someone were to get their hands on the information, they could use it to track her down. No amount of disguises will stop them from figuring out who she is if they get ahold of the biometrics held in that small device in the Peacekeepers hand.

"Luciana Kilroy?"

Sabina snickers at Kilroy's first name and she sends a small glare back at her, only making her snickers worse. "Yes."

"Go ahead," the Peacekeeper motions her ahead and Kilroy takes a few steps into the roped off area before waiting, wanting to stay with Sabina. With such a large crowd, anyone could be watching them and she'd rather have someone else with her. _It should have been Drusa watching her back._

But Kilroy is never getting her back and she'll always regret her mistakes.

* * *

 _Maeryn Callahan, Escort for District Eight_

Maeryn storms out onto the stage, ready to get this Reaping moving, her black combat boots stomping loudly on the stage. She can see a few people in the crowd grow fearful of her appearance so she straightens out her pristinely pressed white shirt. "District Eight, I hope that this will be the year you finally get your shit together and actually give me a victor. Your children need some discipline, but do not fear. Chef Mae is here to deliver that."

"Let's start with whatever piss poor female tribute will be picked, eh?" Maeryn storms over to the glass ball, hoping that whatever she's about to pick will have a spine to stand up to her. Maybe if they can stand up to her, they'll actually stand a chance of helping out this shithole District turn around so she can move on. Unlikely as that may be.

Maeryn selects one of the top slips, never one to waste her time with frivolous and wasteful things – not now and certainly not back in her Terror Kitchen days. "Let's get moving, Luciana Kilroy. Don't be a fucking disgrace to your District."

Maeryn glares out into the crowd of girls, putting her hands on her hips as she waits. "Well? I don't have all fucking day!"

At her yelling, a girl steps out of the closest section, fists bailed in anger as she storms towards the stage, glaring at any Peacekeeper that comes even remotely close to her. As she gets closer to the stage, Maeryn can see bruises lining her muscled arms and a bitch face that could rival even her own.

"It's just Kilroy," the girl says bitterly as she reaches the top of the stage. She crosses her arms, glaring at Maeryn and anyone else in her vicinity.

"Well you're not special for going by Kilroy," Maeryn retorts back at her, even if she's pleased to see the fiery and short girl next to her. She just might have a shot. But she can't just go and tell her that now when there's an act to keep up. "I go by Chef Mae, your nickname doesn't make you fucking special."

"Why don't you go fuck off?" Kilroy says with a huff, staring up at the tall escort.

"You can do the same, mate," Maeryn responds before turning back to the crowd, shaking her head at the pitiful group. "I'm assuming none of you spineless cowards are going to volunteer for Luciana here?" She ignores the grunt of anger at using Kilroy's first name, instead just shaking her head once more when no one volunteers. "You surprise me."

Maeryn starts walking over to pick the boy, pausing to point out at the crowd. "You surprise me by how shit you are." Maeryn is still shaking her head as she quickly picks another slip of paper and returns to the microphone, almost ignoring Kilroy's glares at her. _Almost._ "My Gran can look more intimidating than you and she's _dead._ Now, get the fuck up here, Iannis Lyam."

"What?" A boy yells out in surprise and Maeryn searches the pitiful crowd, finding people backing away from a boy among the fifteen-year-olds. "The portal demons are taking me! I _will_ be back to defend Eight, I promise!"

The boy starts running to the stage at that, leaving Maeryn just completely bewildered by him. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" She asks when Iannis races up the stairs, coming to a stop next to her. "I wish I had two pieces of bread right now," Chef Mae shakes her head at the boy standing beside her, feeling what little hope she had for Eight by Kilroy slipping away.

"Why is that? Are you going to make us sandwiches?" Iannis' face lights up in excitement at this. "I've always wanted to have a meal made by you, Chef Mae!"

"No," Maeryn answers, watching the disappointment fill his face. "I would hold them up on both sides of your head so that you can be an idiot sandwich."

Iannis' almost looks as if he might cry at that, but Maeryn has turned her attention back to the crowd. "Any volunteers for the idiot sandwich?" Much to Maeryn's disappointment – but not really a surprise at all – no one is volunteering for Iannis. "No? The whole lot of you are spineless. Well don't be surprised then when I'm back here next year."

"Let's go, you fucking donkeys!" Maeryn yells at the two tributes, pointing at the Justice Building behind her. "We have a lot of work to do if you're to even have the tiniest of chances."

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Kilroy isn't quite sure how it happened, but Blaise Janek did it. He must have had someone rig the Reaping. Someone must have figured out who she is working for and doing against him, and he pulled the strings with his slimy accomplices and made her get picked in her final year of being eligible. "Fuck!"

Kilroy punches the wall in anger, leaving a bit of a dent in it. She shakes her hand at the pain, staring at the spot before trying to get her rage under control. She takes a few deep breaths, struggling to get her breathing to slow. She even tries to start doing some yoga, anything to keep calm, but nothing is working. Nothing will stop the rage inside of her because she _knows_ the Reaping was fucking rigged. Just before she was about to get her revenge on the snake that took away the only person she cares about.

The door opens and Kilroy is about to start screaming at them to leave, but stops when she sees her uncle entering the room, his face matching her own rage. "Hi Cassio."

"Kilroy," Cassio says carefully, looking around the room before turning his gaze back to her. "Corvo couldn't come and visit but he was watching."

Kilroy grimaces at the phrase, knowing they must be careful with everything they're saying. Because Corvo couldn't possibly be watching when he's been dead for years. No, there are people watching them now, surely just waiting to catch them saying something illegal. Luckily, they had developed a system for just this situation.

"Did Corvo remember to take the food out of the oven?" Kilroy asks her uncle, watching the pain on his face as they have to talk about his dead son.

' _Did they do this?'_

Cassio takes his time answer and when he finally does, Kilroy hates his answer, even if she was expecting it. "Yes."

Kilroy takes in a long breath, trying to get the rage of fire inside of her controlled. The worst thing she could do now is to blurt something out in anger. "Is he inviting his friend over for dinner?"

' _Was it Blaise fucking Janek?'_ Well…maybe the 'fucking' part is only in Kilroy's mind.

"Possibly," Cassio answers and Kilroy watches the anger in his eyes before it slips away, replaced with sadness as he lets out a sigh and steps forward to hug Kilroy. "Please be safe."

"I'll do my best," Kilroy responds, holding on to the man that has been a second father to her over all of these years. The man who has taken her from a pitiful life of nothing and trained her to be the greatest badass she could have ever imagined.

"Listen to me carefully," Cassio starts whispering to her, so softly that she can barely even hear him. So softly that there's no chance any cameras will pick up what he says. "You do everything you can to fight in that arena and win. I'm going to do everything in my power here to figure out who did this and they are going to pay. Faustus has already sworn to do that, after they finish tomorrow's plan."

Kilroy nods her head at this, gripping him tightly. Thank god the gang is going to take care of one snake. It's what she would have told them to do. But as she's hugging him, a terrible thought starts creeping in to her mind. A thought that terrifies her because despite putting herself on the line time after time, all the situations have had many chances of getting out alive. But this…? If she was rigged in, surely she's not going to be allowed to win… "Do I even have a chance?"

"I don't know," Cassio answers honestly, stepping back from her to stare into her eyes. He shakes his head at her as determination fills his eyes, "The best thing you can do is make sure you try. Give them all hell in that arena."

"Of course," Kilroy answers, starting to smile despite the fear slowly filling her that she might be guaranteed to die in the arena. "It's what I do best."

Cassio nods his head and starts smiling proudly, making Kilroy stand even taller. "I'm proud of you, Kilroy, honestly. You're the daughter I never had… Do you have a token to take with you? Something to make sure you remember all of us rooting for you?"

Kilroy nods her head as she reaches up, slowly taking the necklace off and holding it out to Cassio. "Here, make sure you hold on to this. If I don't come back, well…give it to Sabina." _Give it to Sabina to lead them if she dies in the arena._

"But don't you want this as your token?" Cassio asks as he takes the necklace, staring down at the black pendant. The pendant showing Kilroy as the leader of his gang.

Kilroy just shakes her head at him and pulls up her sleeve, revealing the bracelet on her wrist that she hasn't taken off in five months. "I have this. Drusa's going to be with me there and you bet I'm fighting my ass off to get home for her."

And she damn means it. She's not going to let Blaise Janek win and take her out by pulling a snake move and sending her into the Hunger Games. And when she gets out, she's going to destroy him.

* * *

 **Ayyy here we go, another intro done! Big thanks as always for Iannis and Maeryn to Winter's Writing and Little Knight Mik respectively! I had fun with them (especially Chef Mae because she was *chef kiss* spicy lol)! And Kilroy was one of my kiddos! So she was actually a submission I originally made for David and set out to make the spiciest, craziest tribute possible and Kilroy was the result. Now obviously she didn't make it in because of the twist but I'm totally cool with that because it means I get to write her! In fact, she's the reason that you have this partial to read. I was determined to see her be written so I decided that I was going to write her. So blame David for all the angst of this story lol ;)**

 **Of course, I always love to hear your thoughts about this chapter!**

 **RQ #Whatever (lol I'll have a number for next time, I'm just too lazy to check right now): What would you have your disguise be if you were sneaking into a party?**

 **Alright, I'll hopefully see you soon with the District Five intro! And in the meantime, *shameless plug time* please check out my new full SYOT Senseless! It's a Quarter Quell and submissions are still open right now. Guarantee it's going to be crazy and update faster than this story lol. Alright, peace!**


	12. District 5: Control

**Chapter 9:**

 _Keelin Varela, 18, District Five_

 _Six month before the Reaping_

Keelin lets out a heavy sigh as she twists her key in the lock, opening up the door into the tiny studio apartment. She abandons her shoes by the door, gingerly stepping onto the worn out carpet that she's done her best to keep clean despite the coal dust she's started to track inside. She hates the job but what else is she supposed to do when the mines were the only place to hire her?

"Keelin?"

She starts grinning when she hears footsteps approaching her and quickly takes off her jacket, just before the pretty blonde rounds the corner. She's worth all the annoying bullshit of her job. Keelin would work every day for the rest of her life, as long as she gets to return home to her. "Hey babe," she says quietly, raising her eyebrows at the dress Nira wears. "Damn, you look great. How come you never dress up that nicely for me?"

"Oh shush, I did dress up like this for you," Nira answers, shaking her head at Keelin but unable to fight a smile and cute little laugh when Keelin snatches her hand and pulls her close enough to give her a kiss on the cheek. Nira quickly pushes her away, turning back to look at a now pouting Keelin. "Babe, you're not going to get me covered in coal dust. Not when we have to go to the big party tonight."

Keelin starts frowning though at this, despite having been looking forward to the big celebration tonight. Everyone who loves a good party has been looking forward to tonight and the party at the end of Letha's victory tour. Keelin was barely old enough to remember the last victory tour in Five. She certainly wasn't going to miss out on tonight.

Except…she lets out a heavy sigh as she moves away from Nira and into the tiny room that is their bedroom and living room combined. She plops down on the couch, getting a small cry of protest from Nira as she undoubtedly gets more coal dust on it. She just can't bring herself to party right now. Not after the guilt she's been feeling even worse than usual today.

"Hey," Nira says gently, crouching down in front of Keelin. She takes her hands slowly, holding on to them tightly despite being covered in coal dust and just ruining her clean hands. Even as she stares at Nira, Keelin can feel the creeping anxiousness inside of her, coupled with the guilt from her past. Why did she ever make that decision? "We're going to find them. You know we will."

"I know that," Keelin responds with a heavy sigh, shaking her head at Nira before looking over at the various notes, pictures, anything that might give a hint to their whereabouts, pinned on the bedroom wall. Years of working and she's still not even close to finding her birth father than she has been her entire life with just the letter from her mother. She should be more in control of this. If she just worked more, maybe she'd finally save up enough to hire someone to help. "I'm just worried about what they might think if they find out what I did."

Nira sits down on the couch next to her, pulling her close to her despite knowing it will ruin her dress. Keelin leans her head on her girlfriend's shoulder, getting a small bit of comfort that only Nira can bring to her but it's not enough to sooth the ache in her chest. "Keelin…listen to me." Nira puts her arm around Keelin, slowly rubbing her shoulder. "No one is blaming you for the choice you made. You made the best choice for yourself at the time."

"I saw so many little kids today," Keelin whispers, her voice cracking as she feels tears threatening to fall at her mistake. "So many little kids running around with their parents, all excited for the party tonight, even if they didn't know what they were celebrating. All I could think about was how that could have been me."

"Shhh," Nira whispers to her, but it's useless. The tears have already started to fall from the guilt. "You can't change the past. You know I still love you despite everything you've done. And someday…someday we're going to adopt a kid, just like your mothers did for you."

"Someone could have adopted her," Keelin whispers, hating the way her voice cracks. Hating herself for having been too cowardly to just figure out a way to make things work.

"Keelin…" Nira lets out her own heavy sigh, but when Keelin picks up her head to look over at her, she finds an encouraging smile on her girlfriend's face. "Listen to me. Everyone makes mistakes. Even you in all your attempts to have everything controlled," Keelin lets out a small laugh at this, only making Nira's smile grow. "I don't love you any less for what you've done. I love you even more for not being perfect."

Keelin turns at this so she can look straight at Nira, growing restless at the lack of control she has over this situation. She doesn't want things to fall apart even more than they have. The only thing she has in her life that hasn't fallen apart is Nira and she refuses to lose her. She can't. She knows she would fall apart without Nira. "Marry me."

"What?" Nira asks immediately, cracking the smallest of smiles at Keelin's outburst.

"I'm serious," Keelin grasps onto Nira's hands tightly, desperate to have Nira with her always. "Marry me."

Nira starts shaking her head at Keelin, smiling over her despite her resistance like always. "Keelin, why are you always in such a rush to get married? We're so young. You still have one last Reaping to get through."

"Then after I'm done with that," Keelin is almost ready to start begging Nira to say yes to her, to give her this one little bit of control today. "I don't care if we live in this little dump our whole lives or in a mansion. If you're with me, it doesn't matter."

Nira stares at Keelin for a few seconds, keeping her face clear of emotions until she finally starts smiling and shaking her head at Keelin. "Ask me again when the Reapings are done. When I know for sure you're not going to leave me."

"Babe, I'm never leaving you," Keelin answers her, quickly leaning over to kiss Nira on the cheek before jumping up from the couch. The nagging guilt is still there, but at least for now, the thought of marrying Nira someday has lifted her mood and provided enough of a distraction for the night. "Let me go get ready and then we can go party it up."

* * *

"I don't know how you managed to sneak this in."

"Be quiet and don't you dare tell our brothers that I did this," Keelin says quickly to her little brother – well, hardly little when he's taller than her, but those two months between their birthdays are enough for Keelin to considering him little. "The mothers will kill us if they know I brought this in and gave some to you since you have to go and still be 17 for a couple more months."

"Oh sure, keep bragging about being just a couple months older," Gustav rolls his eyes at her but still holds his hand out for the flask she pulls out of her purse. Keelin keeps it away from him, making him sigh loudly at her. "Keelin, come on, you're such a fucking tease."

"Who's the greatest _older_ sister ever?" Keelin asks him, keeping the flask just barely out of his reach as some of Gustav's friends start walking over to them.

Gustav sighs loudly at this, but grins at her. "You are, now share the damn alcohol."

"Anytime, little bro," Keelin passes him the flask and tries to rustle his already messy hair, only for him to duck out of her reach. Keelin laughs with his friends as Gustav pretends to pout before taking a swig from the flask and passing it to his friends. "Hey boys," Keelin says as she looks up and down at them, recognizing all but one of them. And the new one, well, she won't deny that he's a fine piece of man. "I don't think my little brother Gus has introduced us before," she smirks over at him and holds out her hand to him, "Keelin Varela."

"Antonius Murray," he says with a flirty smile, shaking her hand firmly and taking a step closer to her, visibly relaxing around her. "Want to go dance?"

"Why not?" Keelin answers, throwing her hair over her shoulder and giving him a flirty smile as he starts leading her through the crowd and closer to the dance floor. His whole appearance screams wealth, and, well, why not take the chance to befriend someone who might be willing to give her some money to find her family? Doesn't hurt either that he's cute.

"I find it hard to believe," Antonius leans closer to her to be heard over the crowd as they walk towards the dance floor, putting a hand on her lower back. "That a pretty girl like you didn't show up here with a date."

His comment has her pausing for a moment and she glances over at him, giving him a small shrug. What's the harm in having a bit of fun at the party, maybe flirt a little bit? Nira doesn't have to know… Not like they came here as official dates anyways. It's more fun keeping things secret anyways. "Who says I didn't?"

Antonius raises an eyebrow at this, smirking down at her as they get stuck among unmoving crowd. "Well that would be…quite spicy. Who's the unlucky guy?"

" _Girl_ ," Keelin corrects him and starts looking around, having made sure she didn't get too far away from Nira. They might have come in secret but she wasn't going to let just anyone go up and think they can take advantage of Nira. It doesn't take her long to find the tall blonde once more, but when she does, she finds herself gripping Antonius's hand tightly in anger at the redhead girl talking to Nira, her back turned to Keelin. When Nira laughs at something the girl says, Keelin drops the boy's hand, a jealous rage starting to build up inside of her. How _dare_ this girl think she can talk to Nira?

Keelin starts storming off across the room, glaring at the girl's back and even shoving a few people out of her way. She ignores the boy shouting after her, already done with him. She couldn't care less about him when she has her girl to be focused on.

When Keelin is a few feet away from Nira, her girlfriend spots her and her face lights up as she smiles at her. "Hey."

"Hey," she says quietly, grabbing on to her waist possessively. She leans down and quickly kisses Nira, her girlfriend letting out a small gasp of surprise at her action. But Keelin quickly stops so she can send a glare at whoever thought she could come and flirt with her girlfriend. "I'm Keelin, Nira's _girlfriend_."

But Keelin raises her eyebrows in surprise when she finds herself face to face with the star of tonight's party. The newest victor is standing in front of her, all dressed up elegantly for tonight and only making Keelin even more jealous that this pretty girl was flirting with Nira. Letha stares at her with her own expression of surprise, glancing between Keelin and Nira nervously before holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Letha but," she lets out a small nervous laugh at this and shakes her head before continuing, "You probably already knew that."

"Of course I knew that," Keelin responds, feeling herself starting to shake in her possessiveness towards Nira. It's getting even worse now that she knows the girl flirting with Nira was someone way better off than Keelin. Why wouldn't Nira want to leave her when she could have a victor?

Nira leans closer to her, trying to whisper so that Letha doesn't hear. Keelin watches Letha's face carefully, watching the way the victor starts to get disappointed when Keelin doesn't shake her hand immediately. "Be nice, she wasn't flirting."

"I want to introduce myself to as many people as I can," Letha says softly, glancing around at the crowd surrounding them. When she turns back and spares a quick glance at Nira, Keelin pulls the girl even closer to her. "I just want to thank everyone for being here and supporting me through everything."

Keelin tries to force a smile at the victor but it's hard through her anger. "Well thanks, but we have to be going now."

Keelin starts pulling Nira away, igNirang the confused and hurt look on Letha's face. Nira turns back around to wave at the victor, "It was nice to meet you!" But Keelin quickly pulls her back to focusing on her as she pushes people out of the way, barely able to keep in her rage as she storms through the crowd, holding on to Nira's arm tightly. "Keelin! Would you stop? You're being ridiculous!"

"I'm being ridiculous?" Keelin spins around to face Nira, standing only inches away from her. She lets out a short humorless laugh in disbelief that Nira thinks that _she's_ being the ridiculous one right now. "I'm being ridiculous? You're the one that was flirting with the newest victor!"

"I was not!" Nira shouts at her, starting to draw attention towards them from some of the people nearby. Keelin turns around and starts storming off, barely able to keep from turning around and yelling in the middle of the crowd. She can hear Nira keeping up behind her, keeping her voice a harsh whisper as they start getting closer to the door, "Keelin would you just turn around and talk to me?!"

"No!" She yells back as she throws open the door and storms down the front steps, picking up the bottom of her skirt to make sure she doesn't trip over it. She starts shaking her head when she can feel tears prickling in her eyes. "Stupid," she mutters to herself and starts wiping at her eyes, trying to remove the hints of tears on her face. But when she pulls her hand away, she sees the streaks of black makeup and knows she just made it even more obvious. "I'm so stupid!"

"Keelin!" Nira shouts as she puts her hand on Keelin's shoulder, forcing her to turn back around and face her. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You!" Keelin shouts, shrugging off Nira's hand and taking a step back so she's out of her reach. "You're my damn problem! I love you so fucking much, can't you see that? I'd be lost without you and yet you still go and flirt with someone at the party!"

"You're one to talk, Keelin," Nira scoffs at Keelin, only making a scowl form on her face. Keelin stubbornly crosses her arms and turns away from Keelin, staring at anyone else but Nira. She doesn't want to see Nira try to turn this around and make her feel guilty. "How many people were you flirting with at this party?"

Keelin just starts shaking her head at this, feeling tears falling down her face at Nira's accusatory tone. "You're the one who wants to keep this relationship private. What am I supposed to do at a party if I can't spend it with you?"

"You could spend it with your brother or someone else from your family," Nira offers, but Keelin doesn't want to hear it. Not right now. "Or, I don't know, maybe not flirt with people?"

"I wasn't," Keelin chokes out through a sob, hating that Nira is yelling at her like this and bringing up a nasty train of paranoid thoughts. What if Nira doesn't really love her? What if Nira hates her for what she did two years ago? What if Nira is going to leave her? She starts breathing quickly, desperate to have these things under control. She has to get things back under control. "Why are you doing this? You know I love you!"

Nira lets out a loud sigh at this before slowly stepping forward, holding out her arms to hug Keelin. She takes her time, giving Keeling the option to avoid her embrace. But Keelin closes the distance, hugging Nira tightly and not wanting to let go. "Keelin, you know I love you. I would never do anything like that to hurt you."

"I love you so much," Keelin gets out through sobs, trying to press her face into the shoulder of the shorter woman. Nira starts rubbing her back comfortingly as Keelin keeps sobbing at the whirlwind of feelings moving through her. She glances up at the people nearby, finding a group of three boys of varying ages staring over at them. The oldest of the group is just staring at her, silent and kind of creepy. "What's your problem kid? Never seen two girls hugging non-platonically?"

"Keelin," Nira cautions in her ear, trying to get the girl to stay calm. Not that she was very calm.

"No, the boy is giving us weird looks," Keelin whispers to her and tries to step out of Nira's embrace to confront the boy. "Do you have a problem with us?"

"I, uh," the boy shakes his head, but Keelin doesn't trust the look in his eyes. She's seen it too many times before on people having a problem with them. "No."

"Let it go," Nira whispers to Keelin, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders and trying to start leading her away and back to their apartment.

"Virote, I told you before that your father's views are going to get you in trouble! Come on, let's get inside," the middle boy tells Virote, the oldest of the three, and Keelin finds herself glancing back at him, opening her mouth to start yelling at him for judging them. But when she turns back, he's already slipped back among the crowd and out of sight.

"I hate people who hate on people just for being gay," Keelin mutters to Nira as she turns back around, trying to focus on the woman next to her so she doesn't go back and say something she'll later regret.

"I know," Nira says quietly, voice filled with sadness that makes Keelin start frowning in case she caused it. "He's just a kid. There's no point in fighting some kid."

Keelin sighs at this before leaning her head on Nira's shoulder, feeling her earlier panic fading away after being reassured that Nira still loves her and isn't about to leave her. "I guess…well, I doubt we'll ever see that boy again."

"Exactly," Nira answers softly and Keelin can just tell that she's still upset with her. She's still upset even though Keelin was the one made upset by Nira in the first place. "Come on, we can go back home and relax, just the two of us. We don't get to do that often enough."

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Keelin clutches the worn out piece of paper, staring down at it as she sits on the small bed, trying to will herself to get moving. Reaping day has turned to be the hardest for her. She can't go to the City Square and be surrounded by all those kids without being reminded of the child she just gave up on.

The kid she didn't even try to give a chance.

Her eyes are watering as she stares down at the letter in her hand, not needing to actually read the short letter from her birth mother. She's read it so many times over the years that she has had it memorized for years now.

What would her mother say if she knew what Keelin did?

' _Baby girl – I'm sorry I'll never meet you, it's my final regret. You just came out kicking and we can't afford the medicine to save me. But at least you're healthy and alive. Your father Alistair isn't going to be able to raise you on his own, he just doesn't have the money on his own…I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry… But I believe someone is going to adopt you and show you the love we would have given you. And I hope someday you'll understand._

 _Your guardian angel,_

 _Mara'_

Keelin doesn't even notice the bathroom door open until Nira drops down in front of Keelin, gently brushing tears away before taking the letter and setting it aside gently. Nira takes Keelin's hands, squeezing them gently to get Keelin to look at her. "Babe, it's okay… I know she would forgive you."

"I can't even forgive myself," Keelin chokes out through sobs. "I doubt she would forgive me. And even if I ever find Alistair, he's not going to forgive me either."

"Shhh," Nira pulls Keelin off the bed and hugs her tightly, rubbing the younger girl's back and just letting her cry on her shoulder. Keelin clutches her girlfriend's back, refusing to let go because she knows she'll feel like she's losing someone else. "We're going to find him and I guarantee he's going to see you and just be incredibly happy at seeing his daughter that he had to give up all grown up. And…"

"What?" Keelin asks when Nira cuts off, picking up her head to look at her, silently begging her to continue whatever it is she was going to say about her father.

Nira bites her lip nervously, temporarily distracting Keelin from her pain, before a slow smile starts to form on her face. "Well, I was going to wait until after the Reaping to tell you this. Just as a little celebration gift for you making it through your final Reaping. But…"

"But what?" Keelin echoes when Nira pauses to make her start guessing, but she can't when Nira is giving her an adorable smirk and distracting her from anything else.

"I've been telling you we're going to find him," Nira says slowly, watching as Keelin raises an eyebrow in question at this. "I think I might be close."

"What?" Keelin gasps at this, staring at Nira in disbelief and starting to shake her head, not wanting to get her hopes up about this. "I don't believe it. We've been trying for years with no leads."

"Up until now," Nira says cheerfully, moving so they can sit back down on the edge of the bed. "I've been doing some asking around to all the schools in Five about anyone named Mara and Alastair that we're around their age. And I think I found the one that they went to."

"But there are four different schools across the District," Keelin scrunches her face in confusion at how Nira could have possibly had the time for this. "Two of which are pretty far from our apartment."

"I know," Nira shrugs at this and gives Keelin a cute little smile. "I made the trip out to them. It was worth it to get this information for you. _You_ are worth it."

Keelin stares at Nira for a few seconds before reaching out and pulling her close, feeling happy tears prickling in her eyes. "God, I love you so much."

"I love you too, babe," Nira responds before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, making Keelin start grinning as her girlfriend lets go. "Now I have to finish getting dressed or we going to be late."

"I'd happily be late if it meant spending more time with you," Keelin answers as she watches Nira jump up from the bed and head over to their tiny closest, filled with barely enough clothes for the two of them.

Nira glances back briefly just to roll her eyes at Keelin. "We're not doing that."

"Fine, I'll just have to settle for spending the evening with you," Keelin says and glances behind her at the pillow resting on her side of the bed, knowing what's tucked under it. Nira had told her to ask again once she's done with the Reapings and Keelin took that to heart. She saved up every penny she could spare, saving up for months for the ring with a tiny little sapphire on it.

When Keelin turns back to watch Nira finish getting ready, she can't help the grin forming on her face. Nira catches the look and raises an eyebrow at her as she tucks her blouse into her skirt. "What? You've seen me naked many times before, this should be nothing new."

"Nothing," Keelin answers, still grinning and chuckling a little when Nira starts pouting a little at her not telling her what she's thinking.

 _Soon, though. Just a couple hours until Keelin is hopefully calling Nira her fiancée._

* * *

 _Frivalty Neccisty, Escort for District Five_

Frivalty can barely contain his excitement at this point – not that he really should. He's finally living out his dream job. He gets to escort for the Hunger Games! God couldn't have created a more perfect event. And his first year and he's placed in District Five with the most recent victor? And he gets to bypass icky Eleven while Amity is still stuck there?

 _Thank you parents for getting him here._

Frivalty grins out at the crowd as he proudly marches out on stage, holding up his hands to present himself to them and even giving a little spin to show off his brand new suit to the crowd. He hopes all of his friends back home are watching him now. They have to tell him later how his new pec muscle implants look on TV!

The crowd gives the faintest of applause at him walking on stage, but he only lets it bother him for a fraction of a second. Why should he be so concerned about what they think of him? His parents will probably find a way to have him moved up to a career District next year. He lets out a dreamy sigh at the thought of all those victors. Oh he would love to be surrounded by the beautiful tanned career women in District Four. Or the beautiful and cunning women of District One. Or even better, the fierce queens of District Two.

Someday. Someday he'll get there. For now, well, he'll take being in the District with pretty Letha.

"Letha, pleasure to meet you," Frivalty shakes her hand fervently, being met with a surprised look from her at his reaction. "Seriously, it's an honor to meet you."

Letha starts blushing at his reaction and politely shakes his hand before glancing over at her mentor and fellow victor Aion. "Oh, um, thank you?"

"Oh, thank _you_ ," Frivalty answers before letting go of her hand. "Can't wait to talk more on the train, darling!" He calls to her as he starts walking over to the microphone, still grinning in excitement that this is his very first job ever. He clasps his finely manicured hands gently in front of his chest as he stares out at the crowd of children, wondering if one of them will bless him with his very first victor. And what an accomplishment that would be, getting back to back victors in District Five! No one has done it yet in any of the Districts.

He's going to make it happen.

"Hellooooooo District Five!" Frivalty says cheerfully, still grinning out at the somber crowd. "I am just so happy to be out here today and getting to be part of the amazing Hunger Games! So you don't know me yet, as it's my first year, but I'm Frivalty Neccisty and I think I can help you get back to back victors!"

"How about we start today with the lovely ladies?" Frivalty practically skips over to the first glass sphere, unable to contain his joy anymore. He takes his time being over the top with swirling around the papers before delicately selecting one. He pulls it out, holding it up before giving it a little kiss for good luck as he walks back to the microphone. Good luck that his very first tribute he's ever picking will be a good one! "Okay District Five, first up is…Keelin Varela!"

A very shocked girl steps out from the very front of the crowd, standing taller than most of the girls that surrounded her. She nervously pushes back her long brown hair as she steps up to the stage before giving them a nervous smile and a small wave. She isn't fooling anyone with her nervousness about coming up on stage with Frivalty – he briefly worries that maybe she was intimidated by his amazing good looks. He puts a hand over his fake chest muscles, beaming at his first ever tribute. "Oh bless your heart, you're already trying to win over the sponsors! What a smart girl! However," he pauses dramatically to stare out at the crowd, silently hoping that he could even get a volunteer his very first year. "Is there anyone who would like to volunteer for Keelin?"

Frivalty hopefully stares out at the crowd for a minute, grin only slightly faltering when no one decides to step forward. "No matter, maybe one will volunteer for the boys! Let's see who will be joining Keelin for the great honor of competing in the Hunger Games!"

Once again, Frivalty has a bit of a spring in his step as he heads to the other side of the stage. He takes his time again to pick a name, adding in a bit more of a dramatic flair to his selection. At the microphone, he once more gives it a kiss for good luck, having a good feeling about his selection. "Alright let's have Virote Daivan join us on stage!"

Frivalty stares out into the crowd of boys, waiting to see who will be stepping forward to join him. "Virote?" He calls out curiously after a few seconds pass with no movement. "Come on, you don't have to be afraid!"

Apparently Virote has plenty to be afraid of as Peacekeepers have to step out into the crowd to find the pale boy among the fifteen year olds, silently shaking as he looks around at everyone starting to stare over at him. Two Peacekeepers quickly lead him up to the stage, Frivalty frowning just a little in disappointment that the boy doesn't seem to want to go into the Hunger Games. How could he not be excited about this? It's such a great honor.

"Welcome, Virote," Frivalty says to him once the boy is placed next to the escort on the stage. Virote doesn't acknowledge Frivalty, instead staring down at the stage floor and avoiding the crowd. "Well? Any volunteers for Virote?"

Frivalty still keeps his hopeful grin on his face, despite the crowd staying silent once more. Oh well, there's always next year for volunteers. Besides, his first Reaping and he got an eighteen year old! Surely there's a good chance he'll be bringing home a victor to District Five.

"I guess that wraps up my very first Reaping!" Frivalty claps his hands gently in joy at this, already thinking ahead of how exciting it's going to be to talk to all the sponsors. And he gets to later watch the recap and see how he looks on TV!

He poses a little dramatically with his hands on his hips, hoping the stance will emphasize his many muscles enhanced by the wonders of Capitol surgery. "Well District Five, it looks like your tributes this year are Keelin Varela and Virote Daivan!"

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

It's all her fault. It's her damn fault that she got picked her final year of being in the Reaping. The universe surely must be punishing her for making what she thought was the right decision at the time…

She deserves to go into the Hunger Games. She's already murdered a child.

"Why?" Keelin screams out, collapsing onto the couch as the rage dissipates, leaving her feeling hollow as she stares at the door. Tears start silently streaming down her cheeks, yet she makes no effort to wipe them away. "I deserve this karma…"

There's a knock at the door and Keelin sits up a little straighter when it slowly opens, revealing her two mothers and Gustav. She tries to hide away the intense guilt inside of her, still refusing to tell them what she did. She can't let them know. They would never forgive her. Let them think that she's just upset about being Reaped. Even when she's probably facing her death, she'll still do what it takes to protect them from what people would say if they knew.

Cyntia is the first to reach Keelin, her face matching the tears on Keelin's as she pulls her daughter tightly against her chest. "Oh my baby girl, why? Why did he have to pick you?"

"I don't know," Keelin whispers, her voice cracking at the lie. _Because she's an awful person._ "Bad luck, I guess."

Cyntia lets go of Keelin, only to fall into the arms of her wife. Briana rubs her back, trying to soothe the sobbing woman as she stares at Keelin, just the faintest hint of tears in her stubborn eyes. "Don't you dare not even try."

"I'm not going to give up without a fight," Keelin responds right away, meaning it despite her guilt. Because she has enough to fight for to outweigh her crushing guilt…maybe…

"Good," Gustave says and Keelin turns her attention to him, surprised at the way his voice shook with that single word. He tries to cover up a sniffle, but his face still gives away his fear. "I don't want to lose my big sis."

"You're not losing me, little bro," Keelin responds, even reaching up to ruffle his hair one last time… God she hopes this isn't the last time she does that.

"Time's up!" A Peacekeeper says loudly as they enter the room, making Cyntia let out a sob of despair and reach out for Keelin's hand.

Keelin clutches her mother's hand tightly, even as Briana tries to get her to move before they're taken away. "I'm going to do my best!"

"Please come home," Gustav whispers at the door, turning back to look at her despite the Peacekeeper placing a hand on his shoulder to get him moving. Keelin almost loses it when she sees his eyes glistening with tears just before the door is pulled shut.

Keelin stares at the door for a few seconds before letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, a small sob escaping with it. They have so much hope in her. They don't realize how terrible of a person she is and that she deserves this punishment…

But they don't deserve to be punished and see her die.

She isn't left alone for long to wallow in her self-pity though. The door is thrown open and Keelin barely has time to blink the tears out of her eyes to see Nira throw herself around Keelin, clutching her so tightly that she can barely breath. "Why?"

"Because I deserve it," Keelin whispers to Nira, voice cracking at this. She can feel Nira shake her head at this against her shoulder as she wraps her arms around her, pulling her girlfriend closer to her. "I deserve to go into the games for what I did."

"Stop," Nira whispers through her tears, voice getting muffled by Keelin's shoulder. "You don't deserve this. I…I-I can't lose you."

"I'm gonna try my hardest, babe," Keelin responds, running her hand over Nira's hair and just trying to memorize what it's like to have Nira in her arms. She wants to remember this, in case it's the last time she sees her…

 _But it can't be_.

"Nira, when you get home," Keelin says through a shaky breath full of regret that she won't be able to give the ring to Nira in person. She's been looking forward to proposing today for months now and the chance is gone. She should have just done it this morning. "Look under my pillow. There's something there for you. And…and if I don't make it out…know that I love you more than anything."

* * *

 **Here we go, our District Five intros! Big thanks as always to LokiThisIsMadness, Golden Moon Huntress, and HoppsHungerFan for Keelin, Virote, and Frivalty respectively! So this was an interesting chapter for me to write because Keelin challenged me. I had to be able to write someone who I don't necessarily agree with about some of the things she did. But, that made it pretty fun to write in the end! I like getting to challenge myself :)**

 **RQ #7(?): Idk...this isn't related to the chapter at all, but what's your favorite meme?**

 **Only two more intros to go! I'm determined to get them finished before Senseless prologues finish (July 22nd) so get ready! The last two are my kiddos and I can't wait to write them. See you next time in Seven!**


	13. District 7: Confusion

**Chapter 10:**

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

 _One week before the Reaping_

Tanelai had been waiting for weeks for tonight. Resident rich girl Victoria Fabanicci hadn't stopped bragging for over a month now how she was going to throw the biggest party District Seven has ever seen – as if she could really top the party when Stefan won two years ago – to celebrate finishing another year of school. Everyone who's anyone was going to be there. Hell, Tanelai was the one of the first to say she was going. She wasn't going to turn down a chance to relax after a stressful year of school.

But this? This is just a sad excuse for a party.

Tanelai lets out a loud sigh as she takes another sip of her very watered down drink, knowing she would need to chug ten of these just to even get a slight buzz. Music filters out into the vast backyard from an old speaker that crackles, somehow making the terrible song even worse. The crowd gathered in the backyard is not nearly the large group of hundreds that Victoria promised.

This party is just depressing. Or maybe it's the fact that Tanelai isn't drunk enough or have enough people to talk to so she can distract herself from Daram.

She glances across the lawn, never having really lost sight of him. The petty part of herself had wanted to see if any girls tried to flirt with him, even if it's her fault that things ended… Not that she really wanted them to end. She just couldn't be unfair to Daram while she tries to figure out what the hell is going on with her. Really, she surprised herself by how mature she was in doing that and talking to him about her confusing thoughts instead of just not telling him. Not that that made it hurt any less…

 _Oh fuck, he saw her looking._ Tanelai quickly turns her gaze away from him, trying to pretend to be talking to the group of people she's just standing near awkwardly to look busy. But it's too late, he's already starting to walk over to her with a cute little smile on his face. Tanelai quickly starts adjusting her hair, hating that she still gets flutters of nerves when Daram is approaching her. Why couldn't she just stop having feelings for him? It would have made this situation so much easier to figure out if he wasn't so damn sweet and trying to be supportive of her.

Tanelai steps away from the small group whose names she doesn't even remember and towards Daram, finding herself flushing a little at the way he smiles down at her. "Some party, huh?"

Tanelai chuckles at this, finding herself smiling at him despite wanting to run away from him and stop the conflicting feelings in her. She looks around at the sad party around them, shaking her head at how lame this has turned out. "Yeah, party isn't quite the word I would use to describe this."

Daram laughs loudly at this, only making Tanelai start grinning, especially when he snorts. She can't help it when his laugh is adorable and his cheeks get dimples when he smiles at her… _Wait, Tanelai…stop it. You broke up with him, remember? Because you can't figure out what is going on and if you like boys or girls._

When Daram stops laughing, he stares down at her intensely, still with that look of affection he would always give her before they broke up. Well…the look didn't have that sadness laced in it before, sadness that makes Tanelai start feeling guilty for breaking up with him. "How have you been doing?" Daram asks her, growing a bit more serious at the question and giving her a genuine look of concern from not hearing from her in a couple weeks.

Tanelai fights back a sigh at the question, knowing she shouldn't have been avoiding him since they broke up. They had said they would remain friends, yet Tanelai couldn't talk to him without wanting to say 'fuck it' and run right back into his arms. Which is exactly what she wants to do right now…

Daram raises an eyebrow at her and that's when Tanelai realizes she still hasn't answered his question and has just been staring at him. Real smooth, Tanelai… How is she doing? Confused about everything, lonely, regretting ever breaking up with him, wishing she knew what the hell she's feeling so she can decide already if she wants to be with Daram again…? "I'm good," she answers, clearly her throat when she can see on Daram's face that he doesn't really believe this. He just knows her too well. "A little bored here."

"Yeah… Victoria hyped this up more than she should have," Daram gives a small shrug and shakes his head, making a piece of his long hair slip from being tucked behind his ear. Without even thinking about it, Tanelai brushes the piece of hair back before freezing up, her hand frozen by his face as they both realize what she's doing.

"Sorry," Tanelai says quickly, moving her hand away from him and tucking it into her pocket so she doesn't do anything stupid like that again.

"Don't apologize," Daram says softly, only making Tanelai's heart start beating faster at the memories of him whisper to her as they cuddled on his roof, just watching the stars and talking all night.

 _Why can't she just love him without doubting herself?_

"You know," Daram continues, leaning in a little closer to her to still be heard as he whispers. "We could just ditch this party and go hang out. As…friends."

Tanelai stares up at him, knowing she should say no to that if she wants to have any hope of staying single right now. But when he bites his lip nervously, Tanelai starts questioning if she really wants to stay single. No…she should. It's not fair to him that she is dating him when questioning everything about herself and who she loves. He knows that. It's the only reason he wasn't completely angry at her breaking up with him.

"Hey Tanny!"

And there's the reason she had to break up with Daram.

Tanelai turns to watch Mirela approaching them, just catching the hint of a scowl on Daram's face at the sight of the girl. Tanelai flashes the blonde girl a smile as she gets closer, questioning a little why her heart is beating faster. Is it because Mirela always has some crazy idea? Does she just find the girl attractive or does she actually have the start of a crush forming?

She has no clue. Who is actually supposed to have all this figured out by now? She can barely figure out what she wants to eat for lunch, let alone what the hell her heart is feeling.

"Hey there," Tanelai says when Mirela gets a few feet away from them. She glances at the girl's appearance, raising an eyebrow a little at the tight jeans and small top she's wearing, exposing lots of tanned stomach.

"This party is so fucking lame," Mirela shakes her head at Tanelai before glancing over at Daram, giving him a friendly smile despite his tense stance. "Hey Daram. Keeping Tanelai from getting bored until I could arrive?"

"Yeah and I'll keep her from getting bored after you leave," Daram responds coolly, making Tanelai give him an exasperated look at the double meaning. She had asked him to be nice to Mirela but clearly he's not going to hide his displeasure at the girl.

"I'm not going anywhere," Mirela answers him with just as much sass, putting her hands on her hips as she stares up at him. Tanelai knows she should be mad at both of them getting possessive over her but honestly? It's kinda hot. Oh it's still annoying that they think they can be possessive of her, but still a little hot. Mirela stares down Daram for a few more seconds before turning back to Tanelai, relaxed smile now on her face. "Anyways, I came over to see if you wanna bounce from this lame ass party with me and Quaran."

"Oh hell-" Tanelai cuts herself short and glances over at Daram, realizing she was about to just completely ignore his invitation to spend time with him. And from the hurt look in his eyes, he realized that too. She starts frowning at him, hating the guilt twisting her stomach. But at the same time…she doesn't owe him her time. They broke up…right?

"It's okay, Tanelai," Daram says quietly before giving her a sad smile. "We're just friends now, remember? You have other friends to hang out with."

Daram starts walking away and Tanelai just feels immense guilt in her as she watches his shoulders hunch over. She didn't want to just abandon him. She never wanted to abandon him. "Daram, wait!"

She jogs to catch up with him and he slows down, still keeping his back to her. When she slows down, she can hear him let out a heavy sigh before turning around to face her. "Go hang out with Mirela. I'm serious."

"Hi serious, I'm dad," Tanelai blurts out before nervously laughing at herself using humor to cope in the serious situation. But Daram's lips turn up just slightly at her joke, at least making her feel like not a total idiot. "Sorry, not the best time to joke but you know me," she gives a small shrug and an awkward smile at him. "Daram… I do want to hang out with you. You'll always be my best friend before boyfriend. But… I know if I go hang out with you, I'll forget about trying to figure out myself. I'll jump right back into your arms."

"Is that a bad thing?" Daram asks, raising an eyebrow at her as he tucks his hands into his pants.

He stares at Tanelai expectantly, waiting for her response. Tanelai lets out a sigh at this and shakes her head, just feeling the regret going through her at breaking up with him. That was so dumb…why did she have to break up with him to figure out her identity? He's always supporting her…he can keep supporting her as she figures this out. "No…"

Daram starts grinning at this right away and Tanelai struggles to keep her own smile from forming at his happiness. "I told you that this wasn't going to last more than a month."

"Oh shut up," Tanelai responds, giving him a light push as they both start laughing at her response. "I was trying to be a strong woman who could figure things out on her own without a man."

"Tanelai, you can still be a strong woman while letting me help you figure things out," Daram chuckles when Tanelai starts jokingly pouting at this before shaking his head at her. "Now go hang out with Mirela. If it's not too late, maybe you can still stop by and we can talk."

"I will stop by," Tanelai says immediately, knowing that it could be after midnight and she would still want to see him. "Forget sleep."

"We'll still sleep," Daram chuckles at her and Tanelai shrugs at him always being the responsible one. But, that's part of why she loves him. "Just…don't do anything stupid with Mirela. I don't want you getting in trouble."

"I won't," Tanelai answers right away, but she starts doubting it when she thinks about how Mirela is. "Well…I'll do my best."

* * *

"Are you sure they don't have an alarm system or something?" Tanelai asks nervously as she looks through the fence and into the Victor's Village. Why wouldn't they have put up something? Surely there's been other people like them that want to see their only living victor up close.

"Of course they don't," Mirela answers confidently and Quaran nods his head in agreement quickly. They don't really do much to calm her nerves though about this. "Come on, I wouldn't send you in there if I thought we were going to get in trouble."

"You totally would though," Tanelai answers, getting a wink from Mirela as she starts laughing at it. Tanelai can feel her cheeks heating up at the wink and just hopes that it's dark enough out that Mirela can't see. She turns back to the fence, wondering why the hell she's feeling this way. She loves Daram so why is she getting so flustered by Mirela? She shouldn't feel this way at all. What would her parents even say if they found out she was even questioning that she likes girls? Probably give some bullshit answer about how 'She needs to settle down with Daram and start a family, she should be more like her brother Amarius'. The thought has her scowling at that. Nothing she ever does will make her seem as good as her brother.

So she might as well keep disappointing her family.

"Let's do it," Tanelai says before she can lose her determination to go through with this.

Mirela slaps her on the back at this, chuckling quietly. "Atta girl, I knew you would. Alright, let's get you up so we can go see reclusive Stefan."

Mirela and Quaran grab on to each other's hands, making a basket for Tanelai to step into so they can get her up closer to the top of the fence. As Tanelai starts to put her feet on their hands, she hesitates as Daram's words come back to her… What will he say about this? He'll be so disappointed in her.

"Let's go!" Mirela yells and Tanelai barely has another second to doubt this decision before getting launched up, having to grab onto the fence to stop herself from falling back to the ground. She scrambles to get her footing and once stable, she glances back down at them, immediately regretting this.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Tanelai says to them, voice shaking a little in fear at the drop. She could probably make it and be fine… _probably_. "Is now a bad time to mention that I have a fear of heights?"

"Yes," Mirela answers, already getting ready to have Quaran help her up. "Come on, Tanelai, it's only going to get worse if you just keep hanging there. Don't be a pussy about this."

"I'm not a pussy," Tanelai says with a huff before pulling herself up so she can swing her body over the edge of the fence. "Damn you for knowing how to get me to do stupid shit."

"This isn't stupid shit," Mirela says with a grin, her face not too far away from Tanelai's. "Wait until everyone here's what we did instead of being at Victoria's stupid party."

"I suppose," Tanelai mutters as she feels her arms starting to burn from holding up her weight. Man she really needs to start working out more to keep in shape. She lowers herself as much as she can before letting go, looking back up at Mirela as the girl starts to swing her body over the fence.

But as soon as her feet touch the ground, sirens start to go off.

"Shit!" Tanelai shouts, reaching up her arms to get pulled back over the fence. "Help me back up!"

Mirela starts to reach down before glancing behind Tanelai as there's footsteps running towards them. "I'm sorry, Tanelai," she whispers before dropping back to the other side of the fence.

"Fuck you!" Tanelai yells at her as she watches the two run away, leaving her behind to get caught by the Peacekeepers. That's it. She's done for. They're going to arrest her and it's all her fault for being so stupid. She should have just listened to Daram and gone with him.

"Freeze!" A woman shouts at her, just before Tanelai feels a prick in her back. She collapses to the ground as the shock runs through her, crying out at the pain as her body spasms. "Don't move!"

"I…can't-" Tanelai gasps out at the pain as the Peacekeeper approaches her, holding the taser gun at Tanelai.

But the Peacekeeper slowly lowers the gun and lets out a sigh. "Tanelai?"

"Ferrola?" Tanelai questions the voice as the shocking finally starts to subside, allowing her to actually have some thoughts aside from the pain. That's something she never wants to do again.

"Yes," Ferrola lets out another sigh and shakes her head before holding out her hand to help Tanelai up. "You're damn lucky it's me and not anyone else or you would be getting taken into jail right now."

"Have I told you lately that you're my parents' favorite friend?" Tanelai asks her as she lets the older woman pull her up, not letting go until Tanelai seems stable on her shaky legs.

"Yes, multiple times," Ferrola answers before crossing her arms. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"That's a great question," Tanelai says as she reaches towards her back, wincing as she pulls out the taser dart. "What I'm doing is getting new friends."

"Was there someone else with you?" Ferrola asks as she looks behind Tanelai and through the fence at the dark forest.

"Yes," Tanelai responds bitterly, scowling at the way Mirela abandoned her so easily. "They ran off and left me to get caught."

"Fuck them," Ferrola says before putting up a hand over her covered mouth as Tanelai starts laughing at her. "Don't tell your parents that I swore in front of you. They'll be so mad at me."

"I won't tell them that if you don't tell them about this," Tanelai offers, putting on a cute smile at Ferrola in hopes that it will still work like it did when she was younger.

"Nice try, but not happening," Ferrola shakes her head at Tanelai trying to get out of this. Well, it was worth a shot. "I'll give you a week to tell them or I will."

One week… That's after the Reaping. Surely they'll be so happy that Tanelai isn't picked that they won't be too upset with her. "Deal."

"What's going on?"

The two women both look over at the young stubborn voice calling out to them and Ferrola quickly puts a hand on Tanelai's shoulder, making it seem like she's taking her away. "I'm sorry to bother you, Stefan. Just a kid trying sneak in here."

Stefan starts scowling at Tanelai, making her feel immensely guilty for ever agreeing to this plan with Mirela. He's younger than her – okay, only by one year, but still – yet already a victor. He's already killed and he's younger than her. District Seven's only victor. "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry?" Stefan scoffs at this and crosses his arms as he glares over at her. "Yes, be sorry that you're trying to stare at me like I'm a fucking zoo animal. Because I don't get enough of that every time I leave my house!"

"That's not…" Tanelai trails off, realizing that's exactly what Mirela wanted to do. Why did she ever agree to this plan? It was so stupid.

"That's not what you meant to do?" Stefan stares at her expectantly, waiting for Tanelai to try and deny it. But she can't. He's completely right. He starts shaking his head at her before turning around and starting to stomp off back towards his house. "Get her out of here!"

"Will do, sir," Ferrola calls out to him before starting to slowly drag Tanelai towards the front entrance to the Victor's Village. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Actually," Tanelai starts to cringe a little at the promise she made, knowing she's going to get scolded by Daram. She can already hear the 'I told you so' from him about Mirela. "Can you take me to Daram's place?"

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Tanelai was glad to have Daram with her in line today as the stress of going to the Reaping has been slowly creeping in all morning. She shouldn't be that scared, not when she has never needed tesserae and has so few slips in the bowl. But she had to be worried for both of them.

Luckily Daram always knows how to keep her distracted.

"Okay, what about those two?" He says, subtly pointing over to what looks to be twins standing a few feet away from them in the other line. "What's their story?"

"Hmm," Tanelai says as she watches one of the boys protectively put his hand on his twin's shoulder, sending a glare at anyone who dares give his brother dirty looks for clearly being different. Tanelai herself tries not to stare, knowing that there's some sort of disorder going on and fighting against what people have taught her to think about those with mental disorders. "Twins separated at birth who just recently discovered they're related after a mishap involving an orange."

"An orange?" Daram asks incredulously as the boy she first saw glares at people whispering in line in front of them. "How does that even make sense?"

"I don't know but that's the only guess I have."

"What did you say?" The boy raises his voice at the people whispering in front of him and his brother.

The girl glances back at him, giving a snotty look at the twin before addressing him. "I hope whatever he has isn't infectious."

The boy quickly punches her in the face and a few people watching in the crowd cheer at the sight of the girl holding her bleeding nose. "Say that again and I'll punch you even more!"

"Ander," his brother tugs on his sleeve, looking almost to the point of tears. "Please don't fight! They'll take you away from me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ander responds softly to his brother as Peacekeepers approach them, grabbing on to Ander to bring him to the front of the line to stop any more fights. His brother follows closely behind him, sniffling and rubbing his eyes as he glances back at the girl who insulted him.

"People are trash," Tanelai says to Daram, shaking her head as she turns to look back at him. But when she does, she starts scowling right away at the person standing behind Daram. "Oh look, another example of human trash."

"Tanelai-" Mirela tries to start, but Tanelai holds up a hand to stop her as Daram puts an arm around her protectively, also glaring at Mirela.

"You can go fuck off for just leaving me," Tanelai shakes her head at her, questioning how she ever considered Mirela a friend. "I got _tased_ after you left me. So seriously, go fuck yourself because I'm done with you."

Tanelai steps forward as the line moves, turning her gaze away from Mirela. She's so done. Whatever small crush she might have had on her is long gone. That disappeared as soon as she was shot with a taser gun. Daram leans closer to her to whisper to her, "You didn't tell me about getting tased."

Tanelai cringes a little at this and gives a nervous chuckle as she looks up at him. "I'll explain later."

"You better," Daram says with a chuckle, but Tanelai can hear the concern in his voice for her. "Because how the hell did you get tased?"

"It's a long story," Tanelai says with a sigh as they get closer to the front. She glances around, but luckily Mirela has taken the hint and moved away from them. Otherwise, Tanelai might have punched her like that kid Ander did. She rubs the spot on her back when she was hit as they take a step towards the check in. "I'll tell you after the Reaping but before I have to tell my parents. It will give us something funny to look forward to."

* * *

 _Caldara Caldara Caldara, Escort for District Seven_

Caldara couldn't help but feel like she's at home again being among the vast, majestic trees of District Seven. She really couldn't have asked to have been placed in a better District for escorting. She had even asked to arrive early today just to have the chance to walk out among the forest, feel the rough bark of the trees, and just spend some time outside. Sometimes the Capitol just can't compare to the nature here.

And now that she feels recharged from her time among the trees, it's time to bring some joy to the District with the Reaping since their forest has brought her joy!

"Hello District Seven," Caldara says nervously as she addresses the large crowd, hesitantly smiling out at them and hoping for some smiles in return. "It really is lovely for me to be back here in District Seven. And what a _pine_ day we are having!" She waits a few seconds to see if anyone will laugh at the pun, but when no one does, her smile falters and she quickly clears her throat, feeling as if she messed up. "Well, I think that this will be the year we get you a second victor to join the great Stefan Tsuga!"

Caldara glances back at the one victor in Seven, so very proud that she was able to be the one to bring him back home. And what a great victor. Gosh, she has so much respect for him, winning and now mentoring all on his own while still being so young! She sure hopes she can bring home another victor this year as the scowl on his face from being all alone is so sad. Maybe she should have taken him on her walk this morning in the forest. Being among the trees surely would have cheered him up.

"How about we get started?" Caldera asks as she turns back to the crowd, still nervous from the lack of response to her joke. She wants to make more fauna puns but if they didn't laugh at the first one… No, it's best not to make any more until she's on the train with the tributes. "I'll pick the female tribute first, of course!"

Caldera delicately makes her way over to the glass ball holding the female names and reaches in with a hand covered in intricate floral henna designs. She briefly considers her options before selecting one stick out at the top, just feeling that this will be a good tribute that she can help shape from a delicate flower into a mighty tree. "Okay, let's have Tanelai Dorvet please come up!"

It takes a few seconds for Tanelai to step out of the crowd, looking upset at being picked but at least not on the verge of tears. She smooths out her pale pink dress as she looks around at the crowd, slowly making her way up to the stage. Once she reaches Caldara's side, she can hear the nervous breaths Tanelai is taking so she puts her hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her a little. "It's okay, dear. I'm going to help you out! We'll groom you into a wonderful victor like Stefan. But is there anyone who would like to volunteer for Tanelai?"

Like every year since Caldara has joined District Seven as an escort, no one is stepping forward to volunteer. But no matter, maybe they just don't want to leave District Seven! Caldara certainly doesn't want to leave the forest and wouldn't if she wasn't excited about the Hunger Games starting once more. "It's alright, I'm sure you're going to do well as our tribute," Caldara pats Tanelai a couple times on the shoulder, giving her a small encouraging smile that Tanelai hesitantly returns. That only makes Caldara's smile grow as she gets Tanelai to be less afraid. "Alright dear, let's see who will be joining you."

Caldara once again doesn't take too long to pick the male tribute, just having a good feeling about one particular slip once more. When she returns to the microphone, she pauses when Tanelai is looking a little pale. "Are you alright?"

Tanelai slowly nods her head, even if Caldara doesn't quite believe her that she isn't about to faint. "We'll finish up quickly. Can Oleander Spruce please come up?"

A boy from the fifteen year old section pushes his way out of the crowd, starting to storm up onto the stage and making Caldara flinch a little at the angry scowl on his face. "I don't need your help, I'm going up on my own!" He shouts at a Peacekeeper who tries to step closer to him, but they stay a few feet away from him. His footsteps are heavy on the stairs leading up to the stage and Caldara tries to keep smiling, but she's a little afraid of also being yelled at by the angry boy.

"Welcome, Oleander…" She says quietly, refraining from trying to calm him down. Well…maybe he's just a flower with thorns. Yeah…she can still help him. "Is there any volunteers for Oleander?"

"It's just Ander," the boy spites out, refusing to look at Caldara as he keeps scowling out at the crowd with his arms crossed.

"Okay, any volunteers for Ander?" Caldara asks again, hoping the use of the boy's nickname will make him a little less angry. But just like with Tanelai, no one is stepping out of the crowd to volunteer. "Well District Seven, it looks like we have our two tributes, Tanelai Dorvet and Ander Spruce! I promise I'm going to do my very best to help bring one of them home this year as your second victor!"

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Well, at least Tanelai doesn't have to tell her parents now about getting tased by Ferrola when trying to sneak into the Victor's Village. She lets out a nervous laugh at that thought, happy to avoid it, but terrified of the reason why she doesn't have to tell them.

"Oh fuck," Tanelai whispers as she starts feeling lightheaded and has to sit down on the couch as the world starts to spin a bit. "I'm going into the Hunger Games."

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," she mutters to herself, leaning over to put her head between her knees as the world around her continues to spin. This is what people do, right?

Who cares? Those people aren't about to head into a death match.

This is so not good. She's not that much in shape to be fighting people. Or killing? How the hell is she supposed to actually kill people? Then again, if Stefan could do it at 14, she should be able to do it at 17… Oh geez, hopefully Stefan doesn't recognize her from last week. That would be just great, already making her mentor hate her before even leaving the District.

The door opens and Tanelai glances up, still feeling lightheaded as she finds the last people she wants to see entering the room. Well, one of the three people entering she's cool with, as long as Ferrola doesn't tell her parents about last week.

But even without knowing that, her parents still look disappointed at her like always from never being the perfect child like Amarius or cute and adorable like Overra. "Please, don't look too sad for me heading into the Hunger Games."

Her mother sighs loudly at this as she sits down on the couch next to Tanelai, but doesn't reach out to provide her any comfort. "Tanelai, stop that. We _are_ upset about this."

"But not as upset as you would be if Overra was picked," Tanelai mutters, watching the way her mother purses her lips at the thought of Tanelai's younger sister being picked. Tanelai wouldn't have wanted her getting picked but doesn't know if she would have volunteered for her… "I know she's your favorite."

"We love all three of our children," her father speaks up and her mother slowly nods her head at this. Yeah, they might love them all, but Tanelai knows their favorites and she's not it.

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you even further," Tanelai shakes her head at them, almost wishing they hadn't showed up to say goodbye to her. She doesn't want the reminder that she isn't good enough when she's about to head into the games. She _has_ to be good enough there. Tanelai turns her attention to the Peacekeeper with them, kind of surprised that Ferrola was able to stop by. "They let you be off duty?"

"Only for a couple minutes," Ferrola answers right away, making Tanelai start frowning at this. She loves Ferrola, probably more than her own mother. The Peacekeeper doesn't scold her like her own mother does when she messes up like a normal teenager. "It helps that I'm high up and good friends with the commander. He let me come by to say goodbye to you."

"I'm glad you did," Tanelai says genuinely, seeing the briefest of hurt looks on her mother's face at this. Huh, maybe she does actually care about Tanelai…

"But unfortunately," Ferrola says as she glances down at her watch. "Time is up so we have to go."

"Tanelai," her father says slowly, staring down at his daughter and for once actually showing emotions towards her. "Good luck. We want you back home."

Tanelai can feel her eyes prickling a little at this, not used to the affection from him. Usually that's reserved for Amarius. But her mother succeeds in ruining the moment like always. "Don't let your sarcasm get you killed."

"I'll try my hardest," Tanelai responds, making her mother shake her head as her parents start walking towards the door. Ferrola holds the door open, letting Tanelai's parents leave first. "Oh and Ferrola?"

"Yes?" She answers right away, looking out into the hallways before turning back to Tanelai.

"Can you, uh…not tell them about what happened?" Tanelai asks nervously, rubbing the back of her neck and chuckling a little. "I'd rather that not be the last thing they think about me in case I don't get back."

Ferrola shakes her head at this, but Tanelai can hear the amusement in her voice. "I'm making you tell them when you get back or else I'm tasing you again. Now, your boy is here."

Tanelai starts smiling right away at the sight of Daram entering the room before it falters right away at the fear in his eyes. She stands up as he approaches, hating the fact that once again she's causing him to feel this way. "Why did it have to be you?"

"Dumb luck?" Tanelai answers with a shrug, really not knowing what else to say about her getting picked. She doesn't have any reason to have been rigged in. "Just dumb luck that I got picked with only six slips in there."

"That's really bad luck," Daram whispers, his voice shaking as his eyes start watering. "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. Besides, I have to come back now," Tanelai says with a bit of a forced smile as she shrugs at Daram. "I still have to tell you the story about how I got tased."

Daram shakes his head at her before pulling her close in a hug. She can feel him taking shaky breaths as he holds her tightly. "Tanelai, why must you always cope with humor?"

"Because that's what I do," Tanelai tries to laugh at this, but it's starting to really settle in with the way Daram holds her close that this might be the last time she sees him. She has so much that she wants to do someday with him. She wants to grow old with him and keep making dumb jokes with him. Hell, she'd like to probably marry him someday. "I love you. You're a big doof at times but I still love you."

"I love you too, even if you're also a big doof," Daram says, still managing to let out a laugh at this, despite him sounding on verge of tears. "I have so much faith in you. You're such a strong, brave woman. You're going to show them all what you're capable of and become District Seven's hottest victor."

"Only the hottest in Seven?" Tanelai pulls back so she can look at Daram, pretending to be hurt by his statement. "There's really no competition against Stefan."

Daram rolls his eyes a little at this before kissing the top of her head. "You'll be the hottest victor in all of Panem to me."

Tanelai can feel her eyes watering at his statement and instead presses her face back into his shoulder so he can't see her tears. She wants to be strong for him, but she's completely terrified. "Daram, I'm so scared."

"I'm scared too," Daram whispers to her, starting to rub her back soothingly. She grabs on to the back of his shirt, never wanting to let go of him. She doesn't want this to be the last time he sees her alive. "If I could have, I would have volunteered for you."

"And made me watch you in the games?" Tanelai asks, a hint of sarcasm finding its way into her voice as she tries to cope with this. "Thanks, you're so nice."

"You know what I mean," he responds, letting his annoyance at her joking seep into his voice. "I'm better prepared than you from working in the forest. But…don't let the others know that. Make them think you're a threat and can use an axe to kill."

"Are you saying I'm not a threat?" Tanelai asks, turning her head so she can glance up at him with a raised eyebrow.

Daram looks down at her and her heart instantly breaks at the tears in his eyes. "I think you're a big threat. A threat who is going to win this."

* * *

 **Ayyy another intro down! Big thanks of course to Jul312 and HoppsHungerFan for Ander and Caldara respectively! So Tanelai is one of my girls! She's another sub who didn't make it in to a story but I loved way too much to give up on her. She was another big factor in starting this story, just not as big as Kilroy lol. But I still love her so much and this chapter was so much fun to write. Tanelai definitely has a lot of my sarcasm and her way of handling awkward situations with jokes? So me lol.**

 **RQ #8: What would be the reason you got tased by peacekeepers?**

 **Alright as always, I'd love to hear what you think! And hype, only one more intro left! We're almost there and then we can get going with the fun stuff :)**


	14. District 6: Opposites

**Chapter 11:**

 _Ryo Hideki, 14, District Six_

 _Two months before the Reaping_

"Ryo! Get down here already!"

Ryo lets out a heavy sigh at this, continuing to stare up at his ceiling from where he lays on his bed, completely incapable of forming the energy to move right now. He should have energy, he's been sleeping away most of the day.

So why can't he bring himself to just go downstairs for dinner?

He just doesn't get what's wrong with him. Why is he so messed up? Why couldn't he just be like perfect Odani, always impressing their parents? Or why can't he even just be like the other normal teenagers? He doesn't know anyone like him who sometimes just can't even bring himself to get out of bed for days at a time until his mother drags him out of bed and forces him to look like everything is just fine. But nothing's ever fine. He's so messed up and-

Ryo lets out a loud groan when he hears footsteps heading up the stairs towards his room, just knowing that it must be his mother about to barge in here and demand he come downstairs. And he'll beg her to let him stay, telling her that he just _can't_ , and she'll still force him.

But when the door opens, he's not immediately yelled at. Instead, his older sister slips into the room, shutting the door behind her and shaking her head at him. "Dude, you need to get moving. I only got about five minutes before the witch comes up here and yells at you."

"Don't call her that," Ryo says feebly, even if he agrees with her statement, before turning back up to stare at the ceiling. He can hear Odani approaching before she flops down on the bed next to him, making him bounce around and land awkwardly on his arm, but he just stays there. He knows she's staring at him, but he just refuses to look at her. He doesn't want to see the pity in her eyes for him being so messed up. "Please don't make me go down there."

"Please don't make me sit through dinner with them telling me the whole time that I should marry Dampero," Odani counters before letting out a heavy sigh that he echoes. "I don't think it's even the tiniest thought in her head that I don't want to date guys. But God forbid she ever finds out about that."

"Your secret is safe with me," Ryo says softly, the same thing he says every time Odani brings this up. Not like he can tell their parents about Odani when she would just turn around and tell them that Ryo is the same way. But it's not like he even has the energy right now to think about telling their parents. "No one will ever know that you don't want dick."

Odani laughs loudly at this, even if he didn't mean it as a joke. "Dude stop saying that, you're supposed to still be my tiny little brother. I don't know where you got that from."

"You," Ryo answers bluntly, losing his patience to put up with Odani. Somedays he can tolerate her, being her confidant in a household where she would get punished for so many things she does. Today isn't one of those days. The past two weeks haven't been one of those days. "Seriously, can you just leave me alone? I don't know why you'd want to hang out with a messed up boy like me in the first place…"

"Because you're my little brother, that's why," Odani answers with a scoff before jumping up from his bed. She grabs onto his arm, slowly pulling him towards the edge of the bed. "Come onnnn, you can't leave me alone with them. You know she won't let you stay up here!"

Ryo doesn't fight against her and soon enough he's pulled off the bed and falls to the ground, Odani letting out a huff as his arm slips out of her grasp. "You used to way a lot less before you hit puberty."

"So did you," Ryo says as he stubbornly crosses his arms, trying to stop Odani from picking him up again.

She starts laughing at what he said and sits down next to him, smiling at him and seemingly unaware of what he's feeling. "Come on, little bro. Don't you want to at least see Dampero? How many kids your age can say their older sister is friends with District Six's youngest victor?"

"Probably no one," Ryo grumbles, knowing that she's right. And he doesn't have a problem with Dampero… He's still the cool guy Ryo knew growing up and always being jealous of Dampero spending time with his sister instead of him. He supposes it wouldn't be too bad to see Dampero… _but his parents?_ "I don't want to go downstairs. She's going to yell at me."

"She always yells at us," Odani answers immediately and Ryo glances over just to see her shaking her head at him. But she's wrong. Yes, their mother is always yelling at them, but never at Odani. It's always at Ryo for never being good enough. His grades aren't high enough or he doesn't have influential friends that he should marry someday or really anything he does isn't right. "Please Ryo? I promise I'll stick by your side."

Ryo lets out a very loud sigh at this, wanting nothing more than to be left alone, but knowing that there's going to be no stopping his mother from dragging him downstairs to dinner. At least if he goes down with Odani, maybe she won't be too mad at him. "Fine."

"There we go," Odani says cheerfully, blissfully unaware that her emotion is the complete opposite of what Ryo is feeling. She pulls him up with her, giving him a gentle push towards the door. He begrudgingly starts walking, already feeling the creeping anxiety that this is going to be a miserable time. Everything lately is just so miserable for him.

They reach the top of the staircase and Ryo pauses when he sees their mother standing at the bottom, hands on her hips as she looks up at them. Akemi Hideki gives him a look over, her disappointment showing on her face as Ryo slowly heads down the steps. "I was just about to get you. Your father just called and said he had to work late tonight."

"That sucks," Ryo says under his breath, knowing that his father would have kept Akemi from being too harsh to him. He glances back at Odani at this, feeling like this is all her fault now if he gets in trouble. She was the one who dragged him out here with her. She smiles apologetically at him and gives a small shrug, one that their mother doesn't see.

"Well, Dampero is already here so let's not keep him waiting," Akemi says as she motions for her two children to head into the dining room.

When Ryo walks in, he raises an eyebrow in surprise at the fact that his mother brought out their finest china for tonight. What is she up to tonight? Probably another attempt to get her daughter to finally settle down with 'a nice, respectable man'. Oh if she only knew the truth.

"Hey Ryo," Dampero says with a small smile as he joins the victor at the table, forcing himself to give the smallest smile in return, even if it's such a hard thing to do. "How have you been doing?"

"Not great," Ryo answers honestly as his mother and sister sit down at the table with them. Ryo gets a small glare from his mother that he ignores, trying to focus on Dampero and not the crushing anxiety that it's only a matter of time before his mother starts screaming at him. "How are your dogs?"

Dampero starts smiling at this as he starts scooping out some food onto his plate. "Oh they're great," he answers as he passes the bowl over to Odani who puts a heaping pile on her face, earning a scolding look from their mother. Of course, it's not 'lady-like' to eat so much… "Best companions a guy could ask for."

"Dampero," Akemi starts as the bowl of food is passed to Ryo. He stares down at it for a few seconds, having absolutely no appetite right now. He's barely had an appetite lately and was starting to see the effects in the way his clothes start to hang loosely… But if he doesn't try to eat something, surely that will get him scolded. He lets out a tiny sigh as he scoops the smallest portion onto his plate that will be acceptable to Akemi before passing it to her. But from the look she gives him, he didn't take enough. But the look of contempt fades instantly when she turns back to Dampero, giving him a friendly smile. "Don't you get tired of only having dogs around?"

"Absolutely not," Dampero answers with a chuckle. He pauses to take a bite of food before continuing, seemingly unaware of the way Odani is cringing as she knows where Akemi is going with this. "Dogs don't ever talk back to me. And I don't think I can find someone who wouldn't get overwhelmed by all the victor stuff."

"Oh nonsense," Akemi answers as she shakes her head at him, ignoring her plate of food as she does her best once more to set up Odani with Dampero. Ryo starts awkwardly pushing his food around on his plate, the meal becoming even less appetizing with each minute that goes by listening to this conversation. He's heard it before so many times and knows that once they are done talking about Odani needing a good man to take care of her while she raises children, it will move to how Ryo needs to start thinking about getting a sweet girl for himself. But he doesn't _want_ a girl. "You just need the right woman who won't talk back to you. Odani wouldn't talk back to you."

" _Mom,_ " Odani gives her mother an exasperated look, her face turning red in embarrassment that Akemi would just say this in front of her friend.

"What, dear?" Akemi asks innocently, pretending she isn't completely aware of what she's doing. "I'm just stating the truth."

Dampero awkwardly clears his throat and uses his napkin to dab at his mouth as he stares down at his plate. Ryo can tell from years of knowing the victor that he's trying to hold back how he's both amused and uncomfortable by this situation. "I'm really not looking for anyone right now. But I will, um, keep that in mind if I change my mind."

"Too bad she doesn't want you," Ryo says without even thinking, stunning the table into silence at his statement. It isn't until he sees the look from Odani that he realizes just how badly he messed up. But he just couldn't help it…he doesn't know _why_ he said that, yet he did.

And now he's going to be punished for it.

"Come with me, _now,_ " his mother says as she makes her way across the table, grabbing onto Ryo's ear and dragging him up from the table. He cries out at the pain, but she still doesn't let go until they are in the kitchen. But she only lets go so she can slap him across the face. "I did not raise you to be so disrespectful in front of a guest, especially one like Dampero!"

"Are you afraid I'm going to scare him away from Odani?" Ryo asks as he starts rubbing his cheek, glaring over at his mother and feeling a pit of anger bubbling up. Why the fuck should he put up with her bullshit? All she does is treat him like shit, constantly yelling at him for doing things wrong when he can't help it. "News flash, she doesn't want to marry him. Nothing I do will change that."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Akemi questions him, her voice starting to raise in anger at him. Well…she's always angry at him.

"I don't know!" Ryo shouts in frustration, unable to control the anger in him. He shakes his head at her as he balls his hands into fists, trying to keep himself calmed down by taking deep breaths. But nothing can stop the anger. It's like someone else is in control of his emotions and he's just along for the ride. "I don't know what's wrong with me because you won't take me to anyone to figure it out! I keep telling you that something is wrong but you never actually listen to me! How many times have I tried to tell you that something is fucked up in my brain? And how many times have you said I'm making it all up, I'm just a confused teenager who needs more discipline?" Ryo scoffs loudly at this before turning to the wall next to him and punching it, instantly crying out at the pain in his hand. "Why won't you ever listen to me?"

"Shut up!" Akemi screams at him, once again reaching out and slapping him across the face. Yet Ryo can barely feel the sting on his face with the throbbing in the hand he holds up to his chest. "You don't have anything wrong with you. You're a healthy boy who needs to learn how to show some respect. Your sister would never behave this way! I should do a lot worse than slap you in punishment!"

Someone clears their throat from the entrance into the kitchen and they both turn to glare at them. Dampero stands there awkwardly and Ryo can tell he's trying not to stare for too long at Ryo's red face and eyes threatening to start tearing up or the hatred in Akemi's eyes. "I, uhh…have to get going. I forgot to, um…feed my dogs earlier. But thank you for dinner…"

"You're welcome any time," Akemi says cheerfully, trying to pretend that Dampero didn't overhear them screaming at each other. "Let me walk you out."

"Oh that's alright," Dampero says feebly as Akemi approaches him, motioning for him to start moving. Dampero stares at Ryo for a few seconds, only making him feel even worse inside. Everyone knows that he's messed up and a freak… His mother turns back to glare at Ryo, silently telling him that she's not done with him, but Ryo is done with all of this.

As soon as he's out of his mother's sight, he races back up to his room, hating that his eyes are stinging. Stupid, so very stupid. Why did he yell at his mother? She's going to come up here and beat him, all because he couldn't control himself and lashed out at her.

Ryo slams his bedroom door behind him as he starts sobbing, unable to control the violent sobs ripping out of him. He grabs the chair from his desk covered in school work that's remained untouched for weeks and starts dragging it towards the door as he hears heavy footsteps stomping up the stairs. "Ryo!" His mother shouts just as he gets the chair under the door handle, stopping her from opening the door. He can't get punished by her anymore. He just can't. The handle starts shaking and she starts pounding on the door. "Open this door right now!"

"Leave me alone," Ryo begs as he slowly steps back from the door, just waiting for her to still be able to get inside. He wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't even correctly prop open a chair against the door to keep people out. He can't do anything right… "Please leave me alone," he whispers as his mother keeps pounding on his door.

His legs hit the edge of his bed and he just falls back on it, once more staring up at the ceiling, but this time with tears slowly falling down the sides of his face. Why did he do this? Why couldn't he just control himself? None of the other kids his age lash out like this. None of them struggle to control themselves. But Ryo isn't like them.

 _Why can't he just be normal?_

* * *

 _Morning of the Reaping_

Ryo takes a step back, staring around at the spotless kitchen, proud of himself for the work he put in to get it this way. He's been up for hours now, too much energy to burn and unable to get rid of it all. He doesn't know where all the energy came from, but he's not going to complain about it, not when he's able to get so much accomplished. He's already cleaned his room, gotten ready for the Reaping, cooked breakfast _and_ cleaned up the mess he made. All before the rest of his family has gotten up.

Hopefully this can impress his mother. He just wants to make her proud… Finally be the worthwhile son that she's always pushing him to be. He understands why she does the things she does, but he just wishes she could understand that he's trying and doing his best. School doesn't come as easily to him as it does to Odani. He has to work hours and hours to have even just average grades. He doesn't know how to talk to everyone like she does.

But at least he's trying.

Ryo sits down at the table next to an untouched plate of eggs to start working on some of the work that piled up over the last few weeks to the point where he was on the verge of failing – and he would have, if his father hadn't stepped in and gotten them to allow him to finish the work during the summer. He can hear footsteps heading down the stairs as he starts on a math problem, already feeling his brain hurting from thinking about it, and glances up to see his mother get a surprised look by seeing him there. "Hi mom," Ryo says as he jumps up, heading over to the pan to get some food for her. "I couldn't sleep so I figured I would make breakfast for everyone. And don't worry, I already cleaned up too."

When Ryo turns back around with a full plate, the surprised look is still there, but there's a bit of pride mixed in with it that makes him start grinning. That's all he wants from her – to be a son she's proud of. She sits down in her spot and gives Ryo a small smile as he walks over. "Well, I'm pleasantly surprised," she says as Ryo sets down the plate in front of her before returning to his seat, taking a glance down at the problem before deciding it could wait. "What inspired you to cook breakfast?"

Boredom? Too much energy? Intense need to feel wanted by her? "No reason, really. I just wanted to," Ryo answers, ignoring his own plate as he watches her take a bite, waiting to see how she will respond.

Akemi politely uses a napkin to wipe her lips before giving Ryo a small smile, one that makes him start grinning. "I can see Odani has taught you how to cook."

Ryo's smile falters for just a moment, but he quickly removes any traces of being hurt by her comment before she can see and get angry. He absolutely hates when she gets angry at him and he doesn't want to experience her yelling at him today… Except even while giving him praise, she was still comparing him to Odani. Except his sister hadn't really taught him. He had just been awake a few nights ago when she used his room to sneak back into the house after a party, the alcohol wafting off of her. He had helped her cook some food at three in the morning, afraid that she would burn down the house. Who would have thought that drunk Odani could teach him good cooking skills?

"She did," Ryo answers honestly, picking up his pen again and tapping it against the page, hoping it will get him motivated to work on the problem. But even with this much energy, there's no hope with math.

"Good," Akemi answers before taking another bite of food, nodding her head at it. "She can teach you a lot. Probably more than those teachers at your school. I can't believe they made you stay that late yesterday."

"I chose to stay that late studying," Ryo says, setting down his pen and accepting that he isn't finishing the problem now. Oh well, he's sure it will be another night with him unable to sleep so he can finish it then. "Once I started reading my biology book, I just couldn't stop. The human body is really fascinating and it's crazy how much it does without us even having to think about it. The librarian had to make me leave because the library was closing for the day," he says in a rush, having to pause to catch his breath from his excitement. He's almost ready to jump out of his seat to go grab the textbook and he would have, if it wasn't for his father joining them. "Hi dad! Want me to grab you a plate?"

Noriko Hideki smiles at his son, making Ryo feel all happy and giddy at his affection before shaking his head. "Sit, I still have two working hands." He ruffles Ryo's hair as he walks past, making Ryo laugh while his mother scoffs at him and shakes her head. "Did you make this?"

"Yeah!" Ryo says happily, watching his father return with a hefty plate of food. "All by myself."

He watches his father take a bite, waiting to see what he thinks. Right away Noriko starts smiling at him and nodding his head in approval, making Ryo just start beaming. "It's excellent."

"It's not that great," Akemi says right away, but her comment can't stop the happiness bursting in Ryo at the praise from his father.

"It's great, Ryo," Noriko says, giving Akemi a look to stop talking. His wife purses her lips at this, but stays quiet as Noriko turns back to Ryo, smiling proudly. "So I was thinking we should do something after the Reaping. Just us two for a little bit since you've been so busy with studying and I've been so busy with work that I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, definitely!" Ryo answers immediately, already looking forward to whatever it is they might be doing today. It will give him something to look forward to after the Reaping. "What do you have in mind?"

"You pick," Noriko responds to him and Ryo's mind starts running wild at all the options. They could go to the park or check out the stores in the town square or even just go for a walk around the District. All of them sound like great options since it will just be the two of them without Akemi in sight to make Ryo feel like he's never good enough.

"I'll come up with something!" Ryo says quickly before glancing over at the clock and realizing that he had wanted to leave by now. He jumps up from his seat, quickly giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and grinning over at his father. "I'm heading out now so I can take my time walking over!"

"But your food," Akemi calls out as Ryo all but runs over to the door and he can hear the disappointment in her voice, but chooses to ignore it. He's just too excited to spend time with his father later.

"I'm not hungry!" He calls back honestly before stepping out the door, taking a deep breath and staring up at the overcast sky. Well, at least it doesn't look like it's going to rain. That would be a bummer.

Ryo practically skips down the steps and starts off at a brisk pace towards the town square, feeling on top of the world right now. And why wouldn't he be? Sure, the Reaping is today, but what are his odds? He's only taken tesserae last year when his father lost his job and was unemployed for one month… So what, seven slips out of hundreds? Thousands? He's bad at math but he knows the chances of being picked are small. So basically no chance that something is going to get in the way of him spending time with his father.

"Hey Ryo!"

He turns around right away, smiling and waving at the girl approaching him. He recognizes her from school and from her grandmother living only a few houses away from him. "Hey there! Ann Marie, right?"

"Carrie-Ann," she answers, crossing her arms stubbornly at him calling her the wrong name.

"Whoops, sorry about that!" Ryo chuckles at messing up the name as he notices a boy and girl Ryo's age standing behind her, watching Carrie-Ann carefully as she talks to Ryo. "What's up?"

"My grandmother wanted me to check with you that you're still going to take care of her tiny garden later," Carrie-Ann shrugs at this, sticking her hands into her pockets and shaking her head as she mumbles to herself. "Not like she has three grandsons she could have asked. Made them actually do work for our family for once."

Ryo's smile starts to falter right away at this and he tries to figure out how he could have possibly forgotten that he told Mrs. West he was going to help her today. But he's supposed to spend time with his father after the Reaping!

"You better not go back on your word," Carrie-Ann narrows her eyes at him, giving him a hard look as he shakes his head quickly. "Good. The only one that's allowed to disappoint my grandmother is her son."

"I won't let her down, I promise," Ryo says quickly, nodding his head rapidly at this. "I promised I would help her and I will!"

Carrie-Ann doesn't look quite convinced by this, but she finally seems to trust him enough that she takes a couple steps back towards her friends, pointing a finger at him accusatorily. "You better."

"I will," Ryo repeats, watching her turn around and resume walking with her friends. Ryo stays put for a minute, people just moving past him and avoiding eye contact with him as he tries to figure out how he's going to do both things he promised to do today. He can't let them both down. He wants to spend time with his father but he also doesn't want to disappoint sweet Mrs. West…

Well, he's sure he can get both things done after the Reaping.

* * *

 _Belinda 'Bee' Maxwell, Escort for District Six_

Bee couldn't keep in their excitement about being back in District Six with one of their closest friends. It was just too hard to hold in their joy about being back here when they were greeted at the train station by Dampero and his two dogs. How could anyone not be happy about that? Besides, there's no reason to hold in their happiness. Maybe it will help some of the others here have some happiness.

They giggle a little in happiness as they adjust the leather jacket Dampero had given them today, feeling super punk and badass and the complete opposite of how they usually feel. But it just looks so good with their yellow dress that they can't help being so happy! Plus it was such an unexpected gift from him that they just want to talk all day about how happy they are to be back with one of their best friends.

But first, they have a Reaping to complete!

Bee adjusts their little antennae headband as they step up to the microphone, taking a moment to grin back at Dampero who shyly returns their smile before facing the crowd once more. "Good morning, District Six! I'm Bee Maxwell, back again for another year here and I'm so happy to return. I'm going to do my absolute hardest once more to bring you home another tribute! I promise!" Bee truly means their promise, knowing already that they will do whatever it takes to bring home one of their tributes alive this year. And if they can't do that, they're still going to make sure they are absolutely as comfortable and well taken care of as possible! "Let's get started!"

Bee skips over to the first sphere, taking a moment to stare at all of the slips, feeling so incredibly happy that this is the job they get to do. They're just so lucky! They pick out one of the names and as they walk back to the microphone, they start hiccupping softly. "Oof!" They let out before hiccupping again and getting embarrassed that this happened during the reaping. "I'm so – _hiccup –_ sorry about this! _Hiccup_ – the first tribute is Carrie – _hiccup_ – Carrie-Anne West!"

Bee takes in a big breath and holds it to try and stop their hiccups as they wait for the first tribute to step out of the crowd. A few seconds pass before Carrie-Anne steps out from among the sixteen year olds, a huge scowl on her face that's directed at Bee and makes the young escort let out a squeak of surprise. Oh no, they don't want her to be angry at them! But by letting out the squeak, they stopped holding their breath and the hiccups return as Carrie-Anne stomps onto the stage, still scowling about being picked. Bee takes a nervous step away from her, hating when people are angry, and glances nervously back at Dampero who gives them a small encouraging smile. "Is there, um – _hiccup_ – anything I can do?"

"Yeah," Carrie-Anne says quietly, looking almost as if she might start crying despite the scowl on her face. "You could get someone to volunteer for me."

"I can try!" Bee says quickly, knowing this is something that they can definitely try to do for her! "Is there anyone who wants to – _hiccup –_ volunteer for Carrie-Anne?"

Bee stares out at the crowd hopefully, letting out a couple quiet hiccups as they wait to see if someone will volunteer for Carrie-Anne. When no one steps forward, they feel as if they let her down a little as she asked for a volunteer, but Bee couldn't get her one… "I'm sorry… Anything – _hiccup –_ else I can do right now?"

Carrie-Anne shakes her head at this, still struggling to hold back tears, but at least she has stopped scowling at Bee. Bee wants to hug her to make her feel better, but knows that she might not like that, so they hold back. They'll find a way to make her happy on the train. "Well – _hiccup_ – let's pick the second tribute!"

Bee holds their breath once more to get rid of their hiccups as they go over to the other glass sphere. They take their time, hoping it will help get rid of the hiccups. They let out a big breath when they return to the microphone, waiting a few seconds to see if the hiccups will return, but when they don't, they start grinning in happiness. "Alright, we also have Ryo Hideki!"

Ryo steps out from the crowd of fourteen year olds much faster than Carrie-Anne did, a bit of surprise on his face that he brushes off as he makes his way up to the stage. When he reaches Bee, they let out a squeak of surprise when he reaches out for their hand and shakes it enthusiastically, even smiling at them. "Hi there!"

"Hello," Bee says, smiling down at the happy boy, just feeling cheerful that Ryo seems happier than Carrie-Anne. "Anything I can do for you right now?"

"No," Ryo answers, shaking his head at them but still smiling. "I don't think so but thank you!"

"Well, I do have to ask if there's any volunteers for Ryo," Bee says to the crowd, even if they don't really want someone taking Ryo's place. The boy is just as happy as they are! But no one steps forward, just like with every tribute so far that Bee has picked in their three years of escorting. "I'm sure our two tributes are going to do so well! Okay District Six, your two tributes this year victor are Carrie-Anne West and Ryo Hideki!"

Bee leads the crowd in giving light applause for the tributes before leading them towards the door into the Justice Building. They glance over at Dampero but their smile immediately falters when they see the worry on his face. Oh no, did they do something wrong? "Are you okay?" Bee asks him but he only shakes his head at them.

Bee is frowning as they enter the Justice Building, worried about Dampero. They just want to see their friend happy!

"I'll tell you later," he whispers to them, just as hiccups start up once more.

 _Oh not again._

* * *

 _Goodbyes_

Ryo supposes there could have been worse times for him to be chosen to go into the Hunger Games. He could have been picked weeks ago when he could barely even muster the energy to get out of bed. When he couldn't gather the motivation to do anything and found himself easily getting angered. He doesn't understand why at times he gets into such these lows, but right now, he can't complain because for most of the lows, he'll at least have a time when he has so much energy to do everything. When he feels like he can do anything and nothing will stop him.

He knows something is wrong with him for feeling that way, but right now, being in one of the periods of high energy might just save his life. As long as he can keep staying positive long enough to make it through the games alive.

So yeah, maybe he's messed up. But he'd rather be messed up than dead.

Ryo was surprised by the affection shown by his mother. Today was probably the closest he has seen her to tears. She didn't shed any, but she was close. But he's not too surprised by that. If she didn't cry when his father lost his job and they were on the verge of starving, she still didn't cry. But she was close to tears when she told him that he needs to do his best to win and that he can bring honor to their family by winning. Now his father, well…that hurt for Ryo to see his father so upset at the sight of Ryo waiting to go to the Capitol.

Somehow…Ryo isn't upset yet. He's waiting for it to hit, but it hasn't. Shouldn't he be feeling some sort of sadness or fear about this? He knows what happens each year in the games…

The door opens again as Ryo knew it would, since his sister wasn't with his parents. When she enters, she has a determined look on her face that has Ryo grinning. "What did you do?"

"Talked to Dampero," Odani says just before she reaches Ryo, pulling him into a tight hug that he's surprised by. It's not often that she shows him affection anymore since she got older and it wasn't 'cool' to hug your little brother anymore. "I made him promise me that he is going to get you home alive."

"I believe in him," Ryo answers confidently, having the utmost belief in his sister's friend. "I know he'll get me home."

"He better," Odani whispers, her voice shaking with tears that are threatening to fall. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me," Ryo responds to her before stepping back, giving her what he thinks is an encouraging smile. "Have a little faith in your brother."

"I'm trying to," Odani shakes her head at him and he doesn't understand why she's being so pessimistic right now. "Ryo, why aren't you scared right now? Don't you get it?"

"I get it," Ryo starts frowning at this, all too aware of what happens in the games. "I get the odds and I have faith that I can do it."

"I'm trying," Odani lets out a heavy sigh at this and shakes her head at him. "I'm trying to have faith."

* * *

 **WE ARE OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THE INTROS! I'm hyped! Alright so Ryo is mine but big thanks to seahorse8 and CelticGames4 for Carrie-Anne and Bee respectively! So I want to make one thing clear right now about Ryo. He has Bipolar Disorder and that does _not_ make him "crazy" or anything. No one with Bipolar Disorder is crazy and I won't tolerate anyone saying anything like that in reviews. He doesn't understand what is going on to him as he has never had a proper diagnosis so to him, he thinks something is wrong with him and he's messed up. But that isn't the case. **

**So reasons for why I made Ryo: He was another submission that didn't make it into a story so why not write him? I've always been interested in learning more about psychology and certain disorders like Bipolar because I want to better understand them. I made Ryo because I wanted to explore that and write someone in a way that was accurate for people who do have the disorder. And I did plenty of research before writing with the help of Dreamer so thank you for your help!**

 **Alrighty, so usual questions about what you thought about the chapter lol.**

 **RQ #9: Hmm. Idk lol, what District would you want to live in and which District would be your last choice?**

 **Next up is going to be a Reaping Recap with Lisia! I have it half written already so I'm hoping to have it up soon!**


	15. Reaping Recap

**Chapter 12:**

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

For the day of the Reaping, Lisia had expected to be a lot more excited. Hell, she had more fun last year when she got to spend the day with her friends analyzing the tributes and taking guesses at their histories. But last year she didn't have to spend it with the pervert that is her boss.

Lisia lets out a small sigh as the car starts to slow at the Presidential Mansion – really, this was the only cool part of the day – and continues to stay pressed up against her door and as far from Akakios as possible. But her efforts haven't done much good as he still is sitting too close to her, studying his notes and occasionally snickering at the information. As the car stops, she spares a glance over at him and has to fight to keep the look of disgust off her face.

A guard opens her door and she slides out, quickly buttoning up her suit jacket as she stares up at the impressive mansion. She can't help the bit of awe running through her that she gets to go inside and actually meet with the president. But of course, Akakios has to ruin that when he steps out of the car and stands next to her, putting a hand on her lower back and pushing her forward. "Alright Lisia, we don't want to be late for the president. We have some very important information to tell him about the tributes," he snickers at this once more, making Lisia question what the other Gamemakers had found. She thought a lot of the tributes showed potential when watching the Reapings earlier and she had actually been jealous of Mara getting to help in the background research.

As they enter the mansion, Akakios' hand starts to slip down her back, making her pick up her pace as she contemplates how much trouble she would get in if she elbowed the Head Gamemaker in the face. Surely she would lose any chance of becoming a Gamemaker. But would it be satisfying? Very much.

 _Focus, Lisia. Only one and a half more years of this. Even less days when you exclude the weekends and days off. Then you can become a kick ass Gamemaker and hopefully replace Akakios._

They come to a stop in front of a door with a guard on either side and Akakios leans closer to her, making her again consider the worst that would happen to her if she acts out. "Listen carefully to me. Don't mess this up for me. No speaking out of turn, in fact, maybe don't speak at all unless you're addressed directly," Lisia glances over at Akakios at this comment, noticing the hint of worry in his voice. She refrains from raising an eyebrow in surprise, instead wondering if maybe Akakios won't be lasting too much longer if he's worried about what she might do or say. "Just stand there and look pretty."

She nods her head at this, even if she hates getting told just to 'be pretty' because she's a girl. The last thing she wants to do is be known just for her looks. But she bites her tongue to keep from saying something she'll regret. At her agreeance, Akakios motions for the guards to open the doors and he strolls right in, not seeming at all nervous about meeting with the President. Lisia hesitates for just a moment, staring ahead at the man sitting behind the ornate wooden desk, sipping tea and watching her curiously. He motions her in and she quickly steps forward, doing her best to give him a curtsey because she doesn't know how else to greet the President of Panem. Xavier chuckles lightly at this and Lisia raises an eyebrow at his reaction. "My dear, I'm flattered but you do not have to curtsey to me." Xavier motions now to the unoccupied seat across from him and Lisia quickly slides into it, but not before catching the brief look of contempt from Akakios that she has the President's attention. "I'm guessing you're Lisia, the new intern working with Akakios?"

"Yes sir," Lisia answers right away, completely in awe that he actually knows her name. The President knows her name! She sits up straighter, recognizing an important moment for her career and realizing that she doesn't care what Akakios said. She holds her hand out across the table, "Lisia Arune, sir."

Lisia watches Xavier as he takes another sip of his tea, amusement in his eyes the only bit of emotion showing on his face. Once he sets down his cup, he takes her hand and firmly shakes it, maintaining eye contact with her. "Pleasure to meet you, Lisia. I do hope this won't be the last time I meet you."

"Oh it won't be," Lisia responds as the President lets go of her hand and she sits back, pulling out a notepad from her purse so that she can take notes of this meeting.

Xavier watches her actions, that same amusement still in his eyes as he picks up his tea cup once more, before finally waving over to Akakios. "Well, let's begin."

Akakios wastes no time in opening his notes, letting out a snicker that he turns into a cough, but from the brief look of contempt that fills Xavier's eyes, she knows the President noticed his actions. "So District One. Thetis couldn't get her career academy together this year, or maybe she was just too stubborn to admit she didn't train a good enough boy, so there's only one volunteer this year. Pyrite Cherno, age 18. Seems to be pretty normal volunteer from One, squeaky clean record, also involved in some theater, not that that will help in the arena," Akakios pauses at something in his notes and Lisia looks over to see him pursing his lips. "It should be noted that they prefer gender neutral pronouns. At least, according to whoever wrote the notes."

Lisia clutches her pen tighter at his tone, wanting to yell at him for the way he seems to not care about respecting Pyrite's pronouns. She knows it must have been Mara who stressed that and Lisia finds herself proud of her friend for sticking up for something she believes in. She jots down her own note for someday later when she is passed working with Akakios. _'_ _Always_ _check for preferred pronouns and identity and make sure everyone respects that.'_

"And the male tribute?" Xavier asks Akakios, his eyes flickering back over to Lisia with a look that she can't quite recognize… But unlike the looks from Akakios, this one doesn't make her feel disgusted. No, she feels like she can trust the man sitting across from her. "You mentioned there wasn't a second volunteer."

"No," Akakios answers and Lisia scowls slightly at the smug tone in his voice. But really, she would probably react that way to almost anything Akakios does. "The male tribute this year is Pride Flourish."

Akakios stares at the President expectantly, waiting for him to react to the name. Xavier takes a minute to form his response, taking a slow sip of his tea and keeping his face neutral. But Lisia recognizes the look in his eyes. It's a look she's had herself towards Akakios. "Flourish? As in related to Richina Flourish, the victor?"

"Correct," Akakios answers proudly to this, clearly not recognizing the problem. "You said I could pick someone as the tribute since there wasn't a volunteer this year. I think having the younger brother of a victor will create quite the spectacle."

"Yes, I did say that," Xavier says carefully and Lisia moves back in her chair, not wanting to get caught in the growing tension between them. "But I also requested that you ask me first about who you picked."

"I just thought…" Akakios starts, trailing off and shocking Lisia because she's never heard him be at a loss for words. She subtly glances over at him, holding back her smile in satisfaction at seeing him getting scolded.

"Don't do that again. Next time, you will ask me first or there won't be another time." Xavier responds coolly before motioning for Akakios to continue, seemingly unbothered by the Head Gamemaker growing tense in his chair. "Now, District Two?"

"District Two," Akakios clears his throat when his voice cracks. "Two volunteers like usual. Ampora Erikson, age 18, notably she had an older brother who volunteered for the 108th Hunger Games. Obviously he didn't win."

"That was Dampero's year," Lisia speaks up before quickly shutting her mouth at the glare Akakios gives her for speaking out of turn. She couldn't help the small outburst when he's one of her favorites, being the same age as her. Him and Viola from Two.

"Yes, that was Dampero's year," Akakios says, voice laced with contempt for her. "Other than that, Ampora seems like a threat. She's tall, over 6', and had high training reports. Now the other volunteer is Stark Calloway, also 18." Akakios chuckles at something in his notes before continuing, "Apparently this is the year of District Two sending in abnormally tall tributes. But his family is also interesting. His parents are both involved in politics with his father working towards a run for mayor. But he isn't living with them."

"Anything else noteworthy?" Xavier asks Akakios, back to his pleasant and neutral tone after threatening Akakios.

"No, just the usual training from Kat. Most likely very lethal," Akakios gives a small shrug at this, so casual about the training system. "I guess Bronn is the one who has been training Stark and even helped pay for his training."

"Don't underestimate a tribute personally trained by Bronn," Xavier says with an amused tone, making Lisia jot down this information. He did start the training center in District Two. Now, District Three?"

"Ah, we have a volunteer this year, Digit Estrada, age 16." Akakios snickers at the girl, shaking his head as he continues, "What a name, Digit. Anyways, there isn't anything _too_ suspicious about her that would make us concerned about why she volunteered. Just a few reports of her showing up to school with injuries."

President Xavier stares over at Akakios, but his eyes are distant as he is deep in thought about Digit. "Did she train?"

Akakios skims over his notes before answering. "It's unknown at this point but I'm sure we'll find out once training starts. She also has an interesting ancestor. Branson Estrada, victor of the 60th Hunger Games. Obviously dead thanks to the victor purge."

"A tragic part of Panem's history," Xavier answers softly, showing a hint of sadness at this. He takes a sip of his tea before shrugging slightly. "Even I cannot go back in time to change that so all we can do is move forward and not let it happen again. What about the male tribute?"

Akakios snorts at this and chuckles as he looks at his notes. "Oh wait until you hear about this one. Beta Fanto, age 16. His family owns an apothecary shop but things aren't great there. His sister died six years ago, cause of death unknown. But that's not the interesting part. School reports contain several students reporting that they are 'creeped out by him' or that he's even threatened to 'curse them'. One kid even said that Beta asked if she was a vampire and begged her to bite his neck." Akakios pauses to chuckle once more, putting his notes down on the desk in front of him. "He's a fucking lunatic."

"Akakios, I ask that you please respect the tributes," Xavier says, the pleasantness in his tone once again slipping away and making Lisia even more curious what is happening with Akakios. "They are giving their lives for the sake of remembering what can happen if people rebel. It's an important part of our history and culture, so don't call the tributes 'a fucking lunatic'."

Lisia eyebrows couldn't get any higher at hearing the President curse, something she has never expected from nine years of watching him give public speeches. He just seems so…pleasant and incapable of swearing. She glances over at Akakios, seeing the faintest sheen of a nervous sweat on his forehead at what Xavier told him. "Yes sir," he whispers quietly, again surprising Lisia by how vastly different he is from his normal asshole self.

 _Please let this mean he might lose his job in a couple years._ Preferably in about one and a half years when Lisia will be done with her internship.

"Should I move on to District Four?" Akakios asks and the President nods his head, giving the Head Gamemaker a look that says that should have been obvious. Meanwhile, Lisia can barely hold in her smirk of enjoyment that _finally_ someone is putting Akakios in his place. The piece of trash deserves way worse than this, but beggars can't be choosers. "So, similarly to District One, there was only one volunteer. But unlike One, Four had two volunteers picked."

"What happened?" Lisia asks, her curiosity getting the better of her. She's been waiting all day to figure out what happened during that Reaping.

Thanks to the President's scolding, Akakios doesn't send a glare her way this time for speaking up. "Well we had to watch the cameras in the Justice Building to find out why Lincoln Bashara was reaped. Turns out, the chosen volunteer came to apologize to him. He stayed up all night because he was so excited to volunteer and _fell asleep_ in line." Akakios shakes his head at this and is about to start talking, before pausing and rethinking his response when the President raises a single eyebrow at him. "Seems like Lincoln was picked by pure dumb luck."

"Hmm, it appears so," Xavier responds distantly, giving a small shrug at this. "And what about the other tribute? The one who volunteered?"

"Muir Barak, age 18, and personally trained by Okeanas Var," Akakios lets out a low whistle at that, not that Lisia can blame him. "What a victor. Anyways, that probably means she's very lethal. She has to be to be picked as the volunteer. Family history is rough, her mother died of cancer when Muir was 16. Her father has never been in the picture so she now lives with her aunt."

Lisia raises her eyebrows at the statement about Muir's father before quickly making her expression neutral so they don't question her. She had talked to Mara a little about the tributes… Or rather, Mara had told her about Muir and how her father came to visit her. He wasn't out of her life by choice, but because he is part of the Peacekeepers. _Why is Mara protecting the girl's father from being arrested?_ Maybe…maybe it's because Mara also doesn't have a father in her life and understands what it's like to want to have someone in your life.

One thing Lisia is certain about is that she's questioning her friend first thing when she's back at the Games Headquarters.

"And District Five has two reaped tributes like usual," Akakios says, making Lisia realize she missed out on some of the conversation as she tried to figure out why Mara would omit information, something that would certainly get her kicked out of her internship, if not way worse. "Keelin Varela, age 18, honestly doesn't seem too special. She was adopted as a baby, real birth parents are both dead. Medical records show that she had an abortion two years ago. Wow, talk about a wild history with her family. Otherwise, not much noteworthy."

"And the boy?" Xavier asks before pouring himself some more tea.

"Also not very noteworthy," Akakios gives a shrug at this, picking up his notes to look closer at the District Five tributes. "Virote Daivan, age 15. He's been homeschooled since the age of 7, reports prior to that show extreme bullying. No reports of him lashing out or doing anything bad."

"It's a shame children have to act that way," Xavier shakes his head at this and fold his hands on his lap as he looks at Akakios and Lisia. "It seems that no matter what adults try to do to stop them, children will still act out in wrong ways." He lets out a heavy sigh at this, genuinely looking upset that he hasn't been able to stop it. "Well, I guess there's nothing to be done about it now. What about District Six?"

"Another set of seemingly normal reaped tributes," Akakios shrugs at this, looking as if he wants to say something else but he holds his tongue for once. If only he would do that all the time. "First is Carrie-Ann West, age 16. No reports of misbehavior at school. Youngest of four children and only daughter. Seems like her father is a bit of an alcoholic, has two instances of being held overnight for drunken misbehavior."

Xavier ponders this for a moment before sighing at them, "And the other tribute?"

Akakios flips to a different page in his notes, giving another shrug about the tribute. "Ryo Hideki, age 14. School reports have several times where he acts out or doesn't show up for a few weeks at a time but other times he completes everything early and does extra work. Nearly flunked out but has been working this summer. Otherwise, not much to report on him either."

"There's nothing wrong with people having normal and simple lives," President Xavier says as he glances down at his tea, staring at it in thought. "Not everyone can live the lives of the Capitol."

"Sucks for them," Akakios says without thinking and Lisia keeps her mouth shut as she watches the President look unhappy about his comment. Akakios realizes too late what he said and quickly moves on. "So District Seven. Again, no volunteers. First is Tanelai Dorvet, age 17. One of the few kids in Seven not working in the forest because her family owns a produce shop. So we'll see how she manages to do in the games without knowing how to use an axe. Otherwise, just a couple instances of getting caught sneaking around by Peacekeepers, but nothing to get in actual trouble. Now, speaking of Peacekeepers," Akakios chuckles to himself and shakes his head at the other tribute from Seven. "Oleander Spruce, age 15, has had some problems with Peacekeepers as well. One instance was even today while waiting in line for the Reaping."

"What did he do?" Xavier asks curiously, seemingly unbothered that both tributes from District Seven have had problems with Peacekeepers.

"Punched a girl for insulting his brother," Akakios responds coolly, and Lisia purses her lips at him omitting some of the key information about this. Information that is important for understanding _why_ he punched the girl.

When it seems like Akakios isn't going to mention it, Lisia decides to speak up, even if he told her not to. She just can't sit back while the President doesn't know all the information. "The girl insulted his brother who has Down Syndrome," she says, avoiding Akakios' glare but feeling that she needs to stand up for this tribute and his brother. "She made a comment like 'hoping whatever he has isn't infectious'."

"Then he was valid in being upset," Xavier says carefully, giving Lisia the smallest look of approval for speaking up that has her sitting up taller. "But not in punching someone. Keep an eye on him in training to make sure he doesn't lash out at any of the other tributes."

"Yes sir," Akakios answers, throwing a side glare at Lisia that she doesn't cringe away from. Let him be mad. She got approval from the President of Panem for her comment. "Now District Eight. Well as you know, we had someone with quite a bit of money request someone was picked as the female tribute."

"Correct," Xavier responds as Lisia looks between the two men in confusion. They worked together to pick Luciana? "Blaise Janek needs to be elected mayor as his ideals line up the best with the Capitol's. We couldn't let that group continue to plant false evidence against him and ruin his image. So who from their little gang was picked?"

"Luciana Kilroy, age 18," Akakios answers with a smirk. "The leader of their group. Really, so convenient that she still is Reaping age. I'm sure her death will split up their gang."

"One can hope," Xavier responds before taking a sip of his tea. "I shouldn't need to say it, but make sure she doesn't win."

"Oh I've already started thinking of ways to make sure she doesn't leave the arena alive," Akakios chuckles at this before flipping to a different page in his notes. "Now her District partner, well, doesn't seem to be a problem. At least, not enough to need to be intentionally picked. Iannis Lyam, age 15. Nothing notable to report about him except he has school reports about having a very vivid imagination that has creeped out some of the other kids."

"Nothing wrong with that," Xavier tells Akakios, managing to have the tone of a parent scolding a child despite Akakios being older. "What about District Nine?"

"Oh the girl is done for," Akakios says immediately, scoffing as he flips to his notes on her. "Gwenith Fornwalt, age 12. Adopted and grew up away from everyone else. Lived on the outskirts and was even homeschooled. From her reaction to the Reaping, it seems like she didn't even know why she was being picked."

"Why would someone not teach their child about the games?" Lisia asks, completely confused by this. Isn't it required education in the Districts? And why would they not want to learn about the games?

"Some people like to pretend that their children will be safe from the Reaping," Xavier shrugs at this before tapping his fingers on his desk. "I want to investigate her mother though to make sure she didn't completely avoid showing Gwenith the Hunger Games. Now, the male tribute?"

"Garth Rycroft, age 18, another tribute who seems normal, at least by our standards," Akakios gives a shrug at this, not looking very impressed by Garth. "His family at least might make viewers interested in him. No father in the picture. Grandfather and mother aren't working either. So Garth is the main person earning money for their family. Surprisingly, he's the only one who has taken tesserae and his three younger siblings haven't taken any."

"Protective older brother?" Xavier asks and Akakios simply shrugs at this. "Possibly. Don't underestimate what people would do for their family."

"People would do so much for their family," Lisia says softly, knowing she has done plenty herself. She's done so much to make sure her younger brother will have the best life possible, even if that means putting up with Akakios for two years…

"Indeed," Xavier responds, staring at her carefully and seemingly studying her. She turns away from his gaze, not wanting him to know about her weakness. She has to be strong to protect her family… "Well, how about District Ten?"

Akakios starts laughing in excitement over District Ten and flips to a new, very detailed page in his notes as Xavier raises an eyebrow at him curiously. "Another outer District volunteer. But Jinx Holiday is not what you expect. She's only 13 and we still aren't quite sure what made her volunteer. We're looking into her family and friends and it turns out, someone her best friend Sally was also friends with was just murdered last week and the killer is still unknown…"

Xavier taps his fingers on his desk, staring at Akakios for a long minute as he thinks. Lisia knows where his thought process is going, but she just doesn't think it's true. Surely that giggling little girl didn't actually _murder_ someone. "I'm going to send more people to investigate this. I want to know if she did it or not."

"What should we do about her in the meantime?" Akakios asks him, pen raised to write down whatever command Xavier might give him about Jinx.

The President contemplates this for a few seconds, keeping his face neutral before finally giving his answer. "Innocent until proven guilty. Now, what about her District partner?"

Akakios looks unhappy about the President wanting to stop talking about Jinx so soon, but still, he listens to the President. "Beau Cheshire, age 16. Compared to a possible murderer? Quite boring. Works on a sheep farm with a few other families in a co-op. No bad reports from school or incidents with Peacekeepers. I know, I know, nothing wrong with a boring life. But boring tributes don't make things interesting for the games. I'm supposed to put on an entertaining show."

"Then find a way to make him interesting," Xavier answers as if it's the most obvious thing. And really, it should be to the Head Gamemaker. That's his job. Lisia won't forget that when she becomes Head Gamemaker someday. Her games are going to be non-stop entertainment. "District Eleven?"

Akakios clears his throat awkwardly before flipping to the final pages of his notes. "Yes, District Eleven. We have our reaped tribute first, Maddelena Sallow, age 12. Most notable thing about her is that she has vitiligo and it's very prominent on her skin and she's also very small. She also has reports of bulling from school and quite a few absences. Probably not going to be the victor, looking at the odds. There hasn't been a twelve-year-old victor yet."

"Unlikely odds," Xavier says softly, for once in agreement with Akakios about something. "Not impossible, but still unlikely. And the last tribute?"

"Our final volunteer," Akakios says proudly, looking at his notes. "Addae Trillions, age 17. He seems promising, he's quite large compared to the usual tributes from Eleven and even looks a little intimidating. But of course, we're more concerned about why he volunteered. We looked into his family and it seems they have an… _interesting_ …set of beliefs, similarly to Beta."

Lisia tries to fight off a smile at Akakios stopping himself from insulting Addae to avoid the President scolding him. It's just so satisfying to see him finally be worried about something, or rather someone. "What are their beliefs?" Xavier asks him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"We don't have a name for it," Akakios says, sounding disappointed about this. "His family has done a great job of keeping it a secret and seeming normal. But we gathered that they have some belief in the supernatural, because that obviously exists."

"So that's why he volunteered?" Xavier asks curiously, keeping his expression neutral about Addae.

"I guess so," Akakios responds with a shrug. "We have no other evidence as to why he might have volunteered."

"Well, I'm sure we'll learn more soon," Xavier glances at his tea cup, looking a little disappointed to find it empty. "Is there anything else to mention about the tributes?"

"No sir," Akakios answers, shaking his head as he flips back through his notes. "There's quite a few wild tributes among this group. Hopefully they'll make things interesting."

"They should…Only one tribute right now that cannot win these games."

"Luciana Kilroy," Akakios nods his head at this, flashing a brief look of being annoyed at the reminder as he already knew.

Xavier nods, giving a brief smile at this. "Yes, that's all. Thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me." Xavier stands up and Akakios and Lisia both stand up as well. "I'd like to talk to Lisia alone for a moment."

"Me?" Lisia asks in surprise and Xavier nods his head. Lisia glances over at Akakios, getting a look of spite from him before he turns to leave the room. The President is quiet until the door shuts behind Akakios. "What did you want to talk about sir?"

"Please sit back down," Xavier motions for the seat and Lisia hesitates until he has sat back down first. He lets out a sigh and runs a hand over his face and when he removes his hand, he no longer hides his annoyance and exhaustion. "Lisia, I want you to be honest with me. Has Akakios made any inappropriate advances towards you?" Lisia tenses up at this, wondering how he would have known about this. She hasn't told anyone about it out of fear that Akakios would find out and ruin everything for her. Xavier seems to notice her hesitation and fear and lets out another sigh. "I promise you that whatever you say in here will be kept private. He won't know."

Lisia starts fidgeting with her fingers, unsure what she should do. She _knows_ what the right thing to do is. But she's scared of what might happen to her if she speaks up. But can't she trust the President of Panem? "Yes," she finally whispers, looking up at him in fear. "He's only made inappropriate comments and he has also has tried to touch my ass. I've avoided being too close to him." She shakes her head at this, hating the disgusting feeling inside just thinking about Akakios. "I know what he did to Sabina…"

"So do I," Xavier says, voice shaking with anger that is so uncharacteristic compared to everything that Lisia has seen about him before. "She finally told me why she quit… Lisia, I promise you that I will not let that happen to you or any other person that enters the Gamemaker Center. Please have faith in me, but I won't let him hurt you."

Lisia slowly nods her head at this, feeling the overwhelming fear crashing down on her at Akakios that she had managed to keep at bay, always focusing on her goal of someday being Head Gamemaker. But she's terrified everyday of being alone with him, afraid that she's going to the next victim. "I hate working with him."

"I understand that," Xavier smiles sadly at her and shakes his head. "And I apologize that it has taken this long for me to learn this information. For now, I'm asking you to trust me. Trust that I won't let him harm you."

Lisia has no reason not to trust the President. In his nine years in charge, he hasn't done anything to make her not believe him. He's done well to bring Panem out of the harsh times left from his predecessor… Yet she has learned before that the only person she can trust is herself. No one else can protect her but herself. And being protected from Akakios just seems too good to be true. "I trust you'll try."

* * *

 **Alrighty, here's our reaping recap! I always enjoy these chapters as you get some more information about all the tributes, as well as setting up some interesting dynamics between Gamemaker(s) and the President! Plus it's just a ton of fun for me to write Mendalius when he's still so new into his presidency compared to in Overlooked and Senseless! And who doesn't love a little bit of subplot.**

 **So, anything surprising that you learned about the tributes? Any changes to who you think will win based on this?**

 **RQ #10: Are you a coffee or tea person or neither? What kind of tea do you like?**

 **Next up is going to be two chapters of train rides with POVs for each District! Time to start the interactions between tributes!**


	16. Train Rides Part 1

**Chapter 13:**

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

All of the excitement Pyrite had felt at the attention of being District One's volunteer has slipped away as they got farther away from District One. It's only been a short ride on the train so far and they're already almost at the Capitol, but it has dragged on for them as they had to sit in the awkward silence surrounding the victors and two tributes.

Pyrite just doesn't know what to say. Normally they're so vocal and unafraid to draw attention to themself, but sitting across from the reaped brother of one of their victors? There's been a steadily growing pit of anxiety in them as they watch Pride struggling to hold it together as he comes to accept that he's really going into the Games when clearly he never wanted to. Pyrite knew that from seeing him in training. Thetis hasn't been much better, wringing her hands in front of her as she nervously glances between Pyrite and Pride. At least the victor seems to feel guilty about what has happened… Tanya is the only one not looking disgruntled by Pride, having spent the time on the train scribbling out notes, surely trying to figure out a strategy for Pride since she volunteered to mentor him out of friendship for his sister.

As the train enters the mountains surrounding the Capitol, sending them into darkness, Pyrite finally can't take the silence anymore and how upset it's continuing to make them. They clear their throat, immediately getting the attention of the three people around them, something they're used to dealing with. "So…are we ever going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

Their words seem to set something off in Pride and he finally looks up at Thetis with terrified eyes. "Why?" He questions, voice shaking as he stares at the victor, making Pyrite feel even worse that they're with him…They have to do something to help him. "Why didn't you pick another volunteer?"

"Because I couldn't!" Thetis' voice cracks as she yells at the boy, slamming her fist on the table before pinching the bridge of her nose. "I couldn't," she repeats at a much lower volume before moving her hand to look at Pride. "I couldn't admit to everyone that I failed to have a good male volunteer this year. I couldn't pick someone who I knew wouldn't win and knowingly send them to their death when they felt confident they were going to win."

"Well you're still sending someone to their death," Pride lets out a loud sigh at this before shaking his head at Thetis. "Didn't you learn your mistake before with my sister that you should have two volunteers every year?"

"We learned that there's still a chance," Tanya speaks up and Pyrite finds themself nodding their head in agreement with the first trained victor. She's right, Richina proved that partially trained tributes still have a chance. "She won despite being with other trained volunteers. You have the same odds that she had."

"Maybe even better than her," Pyrite speaks up, getting a confused look from Pride at this. They try to give him an encouraging smile, knowing they have to do the right thing here, even if it might not be the smartest for helping them get the victory. "Her District partner abandoned her and didn't want anything to do with her. I'm not going to do that to you."

"Why?" Pride asks right away, staring at them in deep confusion. Even Pyrite is a little confused about why they're going to help them, but knows in their gut that it's the right thing. "You don't even know me…why do you want to help me?"

Pyrite gives him a shrug at this as they leave the tunnel and are hit with blinding light once more. For a few seconds, Pyrite is a little overwhelmed by the sight of the Capitol in front of them. Finally, they have made it here… So many years of training and they finally did it. They know in their gut that this is where they belong. They belong in the Capitol now as a tribute and they're going to be back as a victor to start their acting career.

They realize they haven't answered Pride yet and turn their attention back to him, starting to form a grin of excitement now that they're here. "Because it's the right thing to do. So I'll help you be in the career alliance. And if the others are assholes and don't want you – which is a very dumb decision – I'll help you find good allies. Deal?"

A variety of emotions pass over Pride's face as he stares at Pyrite, seemingly trying to figure out if they're being genuine about this. Pyrite tries to give him an encouraging smile and it seems to work, as he starts to gain back a bit of confidence now that he at least has somewhat of an idea of what he's going to do. "Do you really think they'll take me in the career alliance?"

"Of course," Pyrite answers confidently, letting out a scoff at this. "They would have to be really dumb to not take you. We'll just make sure you show them that you have training. Plus, it doesn't hurt that you're the brother of a victor. You're bound to get lots of sponsors."

Pride nods his head in agreement at this before tentatively giving Pyrite a small smile. "And you're really not going to abandon me as soon as you're around the other volunteers?"

"I promise I won't," Pyrite answers immediately, knowing they'll keep their word. And the decision is already starting to subdue the pit of nerves in their stomach at being sent into the arena with a victor's brother. At least now when they return home, they won't feel the guilt of just letting Richina's brother struggle on his own.

"Alright then," Pride offers out his hand and Pyrite grasps it right away, firmly shaking it and getting a bigger smile from Pride.

As they let go, the train slows to a stop and Pyrite looks around, getting that excitement that they normally do right before a performance at the sight of the crowd waiting to catch a glimpse of them. They motion to the windows as they grin at Pride, "How about we show them already that District One is a team, no matter if one of us was reaped?"

* * *

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District Two_

Stark still can't believe his luck. The year he volunteers is the year that One _and_ Four mess up with volunteers? Seriously? Are they trying to make this not a challenge for him?

"Stark, I can see it on your face," Bronn speaks up during lunch, making Stark glance up at him and cock an eyebrow at his mentor as he keeps eating the ridiculously extravagant meal. His mentor has an amused look on his face as Ampora pauses from her chewing to pay attention to Bronn, ignoring her mentor Clemont as he keeps writing up notes on the tributes, analyzing every little thing he could from just the Reaping. "You think One and Four are just going to sit back and let you take the victory-"

"He's not taking it," Ampora interrupts, setting down her fork to pay more attention to the victors. She spares a side glance at Stark as he watches her, eyebrow still raised in amusement at how quick she is to react, how controlled she is by her emotions. Emotions that are going to end up getting her killed in the arena. "I'm taking the title of victory."

"Okay, princess," Stark rolls his eyes at Ampora thinking she's going to actually beat him at becoming the victor. If anyone is becoming District Two's next victor, it's Stark Calloway.

Ampora clenches her fists at this and starts to move as if she's going to jump out of her chair to hit him, but Clemont finally glances up from his notes to put a hand on her shoulder. "God, I have a lot of work to do with you to make the crowds like you, but luckily, they love me. But they're not going to like you with that brash attitude."

"I am not brash," Ampora mutters stubbornly, only proving Clemont's point as she crosses her arms and slouches down in her chair.

"Are you done now?" Stark asks her, waiting to see if she'll interrupt once more. "Because I would like to hear the rest of what my mentor has to say."

Stark does mean it, he wants to hear what Bronn will say. Getting to tell Ampora to shut up was just a nice bonus. Ampora casually flips him off and he smirks at her before they both turn their attention back to Bronn. The older victor looks a little annoyed at their behavior towards each other, but chooses not to bring it up. "As I was saying, don't underestimate the volunteers from One and Four. They're going to be just as deadly as you two."

"He's absolutely right," Clemont speaks up, tapping his notes with his pen to draw their attention to it. "They both look well trained. And I was watching the victors when they volunteered, you can always tell which one is going to be the mentor. They get this glimmer in their eyes, a sort of pride. One and Four are sending Thetis and Okeanas this year, which means we cannot mess around."

"I could have told you before the Reaping that it would be Thetis," Bronn chuckles at this, shaking his head when his fellow victor gives him an exasperated look. "Unlike you, I actually have friends in other Districts."

"Did those friends share information about the tributes?" Ampora asks him and Stark mentally curses that she asked the question first.

"Of course not," Bronn laughs loudly at this and shakes his head at them. "Just like I didn't say anything about you two. But…we're at an advantage right away with the career pack. They'd be dumb to not have you two in charge when they only have one trained volunteer-"

"The others have training," Clemont speaks up, looking all smug about his notes. "Come on, did you hear the name Flourish? You think the younger brother of a victor in One hasn't trained? And Lincoln surely lost that eye in training."

"So should we even waste our time considering those two?" Stark asks, picking up his glass of water and swirling it around before looking back at his mentor. He doesn't want to bother with them, but if Bronn says they should… Well, he supposes he can scope them out on the first day. See how quickly they'll die in the arena.

"Stark," Bronn starts and Stark immediately turns his attention towards his mentor, recognizing the tone from the many times Bronn has been straight-up with him about training and the games. "It will _never_ be a waste of time considering the tributes and I'm talking about all of them, not just Pride and Lincoln. Don't underestimate any of them. There's three other volunteers this year and they wouldn't have volunteered if they didn't intend to win."

"They can intend all they want, but they're not going to succeed," Stark answers confidently and Ampora even reluctantly nods her head in agreement with him. "I'm not letting anyone else get the title of victor this year."

"Neither am I," Ampora adds on and Stark can just feel her glare directed at him, but can't bring himself to care or be remotely afraid of her. Not when he's beaten all the other tributes to be the volunteer this year.

"Well then," Bronn lets out a short laugh before shaking his head at them, but the smile on his face shows his amusement towards them. "I'm looking forward to bringing back home another victor to District Two."

"Just don't get too cocky," Clemont adds on, earning himself an eye roll from Bronn at this. "What, are you trying to say that I'm cocky?"

"I didn't say anything," Bronn shrugs casually at this, amused look in his eyes. "But if you want to set an example to them on what not to do, go right ahead."

"I will set an example of what not to do," Clemont grumbles at this, crossing his arms before turning back to face the two tributes, just sitting there and watching the victors banter. It's amusing to Stark and he starts contemplating which victors he'll befriend after he comes back home. Viola's not bad looking, neither is Roxanne, but who is he kidding. He doesn't need friends when he has Faustus and Avita waiting for him. Who needs friends when he has the fame and wealth of a victor? "Don't die. That's my example of what not to do."

"Well that's obvious," Ampora shakes her head at her mentor, seemingly not amused by his joking. "Don't you have any serious advice for us?"

Stark scoffs at her reaction, realizing it's going to be a long few days of putting up with her if he's already getting annoyed by her behavior. But it will only be for a short amount of time until the moment is right and he can get rid of her, leaving no real challenge to him becoming victor. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to follow his advice of not dying."

* * *

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

Beta's mind is in a hundred different places as he stares out of focus at his escort as they explain the tattoos on the back of their hands. He hadn't anticipated being reaped, but maybe this can be the opportunity he needs to get Copper back. There must be some books in the Capitol with the correct spell. If he can get his hands on it…there's no stopping him. There is the issue of finding a suitable vessel for his sister, but that's a later problem.

But for now? He needs to figure out what curse to place on any tributes that try to hurt him.

Beta would have liked to have his journal with him, but he knows every spell and curse in it after painstakingly writing everything down. Boils? No, that's not intimidating enough. He could curse them with excessive vomiting… No one will want that.

Frisk lets out a loud gasp that snaps Beta out of his mind, making him ready to start cursing them for distracting him from his plan. But Frisk is pulling out paints from their bag before looking up at the three of them, starting to get nervous. "Is it alright if I paint a heart on your cheeks? Of course, if you don't want one, that's fine…"

Beta looks at Isidore and Digit in confusion, having missed whatever conversation they were having by being so caught up in his own mind. Digit timidly looks at the victor, making Beta even more confused about her. Why would someone so afraid looking volunteer?

Isidore is the first to speak up, giving the new escort a gentle smile. "Of course, I'll go first."

"Excellent!" Frisk jumps up from their spot and quickly runs around the table so they can sit down next to the victor. "I know just which one is your dominant trait. You're definitely getting cyan for patience! Anyone who could wait that long for the finale to start is definitely a very patient person." They carefully pick up their paint brush and Isidore gives the escort a gentle smile. Frisk continues talking away as they start painting, often stopping so they can look up at them. "Digit obviously is going to get orange because she must be very brave to volunteer for the Hunger Games!"

"I…I don't feel very brave right now," Digit quietly says, staring down at her hands and avoiding the disappointed look on Frisk's face at this statement.

"Well you can't be brave all the time," Frisk says softly as they start filling in the heart on Isidore's cheek. "In fact, I think it requires a lot of bravery to be able to admit when you're afraid! And…done!"

Frisk stares proudly at their work and Isidore smiles at them, genuinely looking happy to be around the escort. Beta can just tell that that's just how the victor is…maybe she'll actually help him. Digit softly clears her throat and Frisk turns their gaze towards her, still not smiling despite the joy in their eyes. "Can you paint mine next?"

"Of course!" Frisk happily grabs a new brush before turning their friendly gaze towards Beta. "And they'll we have to figure out what yours is!"

Beta glances down at the paints, seeing the two colors that Tracer loves… The thought of his friend causes worry to start creeping in that they're on their own once again after everything they went through. Beta has to get home for them. He has to. For Tracer _and_ Copper. "Can I have green and purple?"

"No!" Frisk gasps at this, looking offended at this statement and making Beta start scowling and getting ready to start going through his list of curses in his head. "You only have one dominate trait! We'll have to figure out if you're kind or passionate."

"Passionate," Beta says quietly, calming down from wanting to curse Frisk… He can see in their eyes that they mean well. "Tracer would be kind."

"Then we can draw a green heart for them when we get back to District Three!" Frisk says cheerfully, turning their focus back to Digit. "So why did you volunteer, Digit?"

Digit is quiet for a minute, just letting Frisk paint the orange heart on their cheek and refusing to make eye contact with the others. "I didn't want to…" She finally whispers, almost on the verge of tears. "I couldn't say no to them…"

Beta starts to feel bad for her, but stops himself before the feeling can escalate. He can't feel bad for his District partner. Not when he has to win and she's one other person getting in his way of that. Tracer needs him…he's all they have. _He needs to get home, whatever it takes._ "Are there any herbs on the train?"

"Herbs?" Frisk asks, rightfully confused by his request. "What do you need them for?"

"I need to cast spells to curse any tributes that try to injure me."

Silence fills the train car as the three others all stare at Beta with looks ranging from confusion to fear. Frisk awkwardly looks over at Isidore before shrugging and turning their friendly gaze back to Beta. "Well, I don't know anything about cursing people… But I can certainly ask in the kitchen if there are any herbs you can use!"

"Thank you," Beta answers, nodding his head solemnly at the new escort that is trying so hard to help them. "It's very important that I cast these curses tonight, since it's a full moon."

"Then I'll get right on it!" Frisk jumps up from their spot and runs out of the room as fast as they can with their tiny legs.

Beta turns his attention back to the victor and his District partner, earning confused and concerned looks from them. Digit nervously won't meet his gaze for longer than a fraction of a second at a time, but when she does, her fear is evident. "The curses are necessary. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that I win. Don't worry, as long as you don't try to kill me, you won't be cursed."

Digit doesn't look reassured at all by this and hesitantly stands up, "I'm going to…uh…just go to my room for the night."

"Good night," Beta calls to her as she walks almost as quickly as Frisk did to leave the train car. Once the door is shut behind her, Beta turns his attention back to his mentor, giving her a solemn nod as she hesitantly smiles at him. "You'll be getting a victor this year. There's nothing I won't do to get back home to Copper and Tracer."

* * *

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

"This is fucking _bullshit_ ," Okeanas shouts for probably the fiftieth time and Muir can see Link cringe in fear of her. She can't blame him. Most people would react the same way if Okeanas was directing her rage at them. Muir would certainly be in fear of the victor if she was screaming at her. "That fucking little bitch is dead when we get back to District Four."

 _Well, at least they're not Soren Lovette._

"Okeanas, you can't just kill the boy for not volunteering," Amelia says with a heavy sigh, seemingly unbothered by the rage in the other victor's eyes as she turns her glare towards her. "Even you wouldn't be safe from prison for murdering someone outside of the games."

Muir grabs on to her new necklace, moving the ring around on the chain anxiously as she watches the victors argue about what to do with Link. She thought she would be happy to be on the train right now, heading off to the Capitol to finally compete in the Hunger Games. It's what she's worked towards for years and promised her mother she would do. Yet all she feels is a pit of regret and like she made the worst decision of her life. It started as soon as her father left her room in the Justice Building. Finally, after so many years of wanting to see him, she finally did. And now she wants nothing more than to run back to District Four and never let him leave her side.

"Muir, if you want to win, you better stay away from him," Okeanas points at Muir and she cringes a little at the victor's expression. Muir glances over at Link, feeling bad for this guy that he has to put up with her anger and even worst, be sent into the games when he didn't want to. All because Soren managed to fall asleep in line. "Seriously, don't get caught up in whatever bad luck he has surrounding him."

"I'm not _that_ unlucky," Link says as he picks up his glass of juice just as the train turns, causing him to spill the purple juice all over his shirt. He looks down at it and sighs loudly as he picks up a napkin to futilely try to clean up the mess. "Oh who am I kidding, I have terrible luck. I would be the one to get sent into the games when there were supposed to be two volunteers." Link gives up on cleaning up his ruined shirt and throws his napkin onto the table, causing a knife to slip off. Link lets out a groan of pain before lifting up his foot, showing the knife sticking out of the top of his shoe. "See what I mean? You're better off without me. Maybe District Four will actually get a victor then."

"I'm going to lose my mind," Okeanas mutters, putting a hand on her forehead as Link pulls the knife out of his shoe and carefully sets it back down on the table, far away from him. She shakes her head as she turns her glare back to Muir. "Listen to us and don't take him in the career alliance. I'm sure the others will agree and listen to you. They'd be dumb to not listen to you once they know I'm your mentor."

"I…" Muir hesitates at this, really not wanting to face the rage of her mentor. But she really doesn't want to be the leader of the career pack. She knows what a dangerous position that is and it's so rare for the leader to actually be the victor. Not to mention the pit of anxiety creeping up in her at just thinking about talking to the others and having them actually listen to her. She's not intimidating like Okeanas. Why did they even pick her? She can't lead people and doesn't _want_ to. She just wants to be back home with her father… But it's too late for that. She made the dumb decision to volunteer and she has to stick with it. "I'm not telling them we shouldn't take Link. There's worse options that Four could have had this year in terms of reaped tributes…"

Muir trails off when she sees the growing rage on Okeanas' face and she cringes a little as she gets ready for her outburst. "Un- _fucking_ -believable! Fine!" Okeanas shouts as she starts stomping off towards the next car with their rooms. "Let me know when you want to actually listen to me! Until then, I guess I'll just accept that District Four won't have another victor!"

Okeanas manages to slam the sliding door behind her and Amelia lets out a sigh. Muir turns her attention to the other young victor, finding her shaking her head at Okeanas. "Just let her calm down. She's still really angry at Soren."

"I couldn't tell," Muir scoffs at this, getting a smile from Amelia at her comment.

"Do you mean it?" Link asks her, giving her a confused look as he takes out his wooden eyeball to start cleaning it on the small section of his shirt that isn't ruined. "Okeanas is right…District Four has a better chance at victory without me in the career alliance."

They're probably right about this…but Muir would rather have at least one other person with her in the alliance that she can trust. She knows if she's on her own with the pairs from One and Two, it will be so easy for one of them to stab her in the back. Maybe Link Bashara isn't the greatest option. Hell, everyone in training knows the story about how he lost his eye in a training accident. But he's still from home.

And Muir really wants another piece of home with her.

"Yeah," she says with a small shrug, closing her fist around the engagement ring hanging from her necklace. She knows her mom would have wanted her to not give up on Link before even giving him a chance. "We'll let the others decide but I'm not going to tell them right off the bat not to take you."

Link gives her a small smile at this as he shakes his head. "Muir, you really should stay away from me. I don't want you getting pulled down in my bad luck."

Muir shrugs at him, letting go of her necklace as she sits up, feeling comfortable in her decision. Hopefully she won't regret it later, but for now…it's the right thing. "Well if you have such bad luck, maybe you can take out some of the other careers with it."

* * *

 _Keelin Varela, 18, District Five_

Now that Keelin has gotten over the shock of being reaped – although she still knows it's karma for what she did – her mind has turned to figuring out how she's going to get back home to Nira. She'll do whatever it takes to get back home to her.

Keelin taps her fingers on the table, watching Letha – her _mentor_ , despite being a year younger than Keelin – shyly try to keep up the conversation, often looking to her own mentor Aion for reassurance. "So um, I suppose it would be helpful to figure out if you two want to be allies… You should definitely consider it, I wouldn't be here today without my District partner…" Letha trails off at this, letting out a sad sigh as she looks at the two tributes. When she continues, she speaks so softly that Keelin barely hears her. "It would make things easier for me."

Keelin shares a look with Virote and it's clear they're both thinking the same thing, just for different reasons. He had kept his distance from her, ever since they boarded the train and Letha had asked them both who they were fighting for. Keelin doesn't know what his problem is, but he had been closed off ever since she mentioned her girlfriend… At least his eyes show a bit of guilt now… But that won't change Keelin's mind. There's better people for her to ally with.

"No," Keelin answers, her mind going back to the recap of the Reapings and her options. There were a handful of older tributes that she feels confident she can get to be her ally… Obviously none of the careers, or at least, those that actually volunteered. What luck she had, getting put in the year the careers seem to be a mess.

"I think we're too different," Virote adds coolly, seemingly unbothered at all by Keelin shutting down the option of being his ally quickly. Why would she want to be with him? She can't use the younger boy to make sure she wins.

"Oh," Letha starts frowning as she looks at the two tributes sitting across from her. A few seconds pass before she turns her gaze over to Aion. "What do we do now?"

Great, Keelin is stuck with someone who doesn't even know what she's doing. How come she got stuck with the new mentor? Why wouldn't they give her the more experienced one since she's older and going to win over Virote?

Aion gives her an encouraging smile at this, seemingly unbothered by her incompetence at mentoring. "Now we see if they want to be mentored alone. Do you two care if the other knows your plans?"

"Yes."

"No."

Keelin looks over at Virote right away, questioning why he doesn't care that Keelin knows his plans. He simply shrugs at her, "I don't care if you know. Who are you going to tell? The careers?"

Well…that was one of her options that she was considering. With two reaped careers, maybe one of them won't be accepted in the alliance and she can get them to be her ally.

"Well I care," Keelin scoffs at Virote. She's seen the way he's been staring kinda weirdly at her, just silently watching the conversation. She's not letting him know her plan, not a chance. He'll probably turn around and tell the others what she's doing so they turn on her. Keelin turns her gaze back to Letha, the girl younger than her looking very confused as Keelin stands up. "Can we go talk somewhere private?"

Letha spares a glance over at Aion before hesitantly smiling at Keelin. "Sure," she answers softly before standing up and following Keelin into the next train car. Keelin sits down at one of the tables, watching Letha carefully sit down across from her. "So…" she starts awkwardly, starting to fidget with her hands. "I don't really know what I'm doing… I'm just doing what Aion did last year." She stares at Keelin carefully, giving her a small shrug before leaning back against the chair, sinking down into it. "So I guess we figure out some allies for you."

"I already know who I want," Keelin answers immediately, having been thinking it over ever since she watched the recap. Six options…six people for her to try and get on her side to protect her so she can make it home to Nira.

Letha perks up at this, grinning at Keelin for already having an idea of what to do and saving her mentor from struggling some more. Keelin tentatively returns a smile back to the victor, unable to fight it when Letha just looks so happy that Keelin is willing to work with her. "Really? Who?"

"At least one of the oldest, so six potential allies," Keelin gives a shrug at this, fairly confident in her abilities to win over at least one of them. "I think I can easily get that girl from Seven or the boy from Nine as my ally. And if the careers don't want the two reaped ones, I'll gladly take them."

"Be careful with the careers," Letha whispers, pulling her legs up so she can wrap her arms around her knees as she looks on the verge of tears. Keelin knows why her mentor is this way, everyone knows. But just because Letha's ally was killed by the boy from Four doesn't mean that Keelin will get killed by one of the careers. "Even a reaped one can still be deadly."

Keelin stares at Letha for a few seconds, watching the young victor's eyes start watering as she stares down at the floor instead of looking at her tribute. She's such a broken mess…how did she ever win the games? Surely if Letha won, Keelin can win. "Oh I'm counting on them being deadly. I want them to kill anyone that's threatening me."

* * *

 _Ryo Hideki, 14, District Six_

Ryo was trying his best to hold onto the faith that he can do this, the faith that he told his sister that he has. But the constant awkward glances from Dampero as he talks quietly to Bee are starting to get to him.

"I know you're talking about me," Ryo finally speaks up after what must be the fiftieth time Dampero has glanced over at him in the last five minutes. Bee lets out a squeak of surprise at this and Ryo jumps up from his seat so he can move closer to the two. "Shouldn't we be planning things? Figuring out who I should ally with, what to learn in training, how to win over sponsors? You know, figuring out how I'm going to win. I'm sure that's what Embla and Carrie-Ann are doing, which, I have to say, I'm kinda glad she didn't want to be allies because she scares me just a little bit."

Dampero looks over at Bee as they nod their head in agreement quickly. The victor looks awkward about everything while the escort gives Ryo a reassuring smile that he returns quickly. "Of course! But is there anything I can get you? Do you want a blanket, maybe something nice to drink or something to snack on?"

Ryo notices the slight chill in the train at Bee mentioning a blanket and rubs his arms a little before smiling up at them. "It is a little chilly but you don't need to get it for me, I can do it!"

"Nonsense!" Bee shakes their head rapidly and Ryo chuckles a little as the antennae on their headband whip around. "I want to do whatever I can to help you out." They jump out of their chair and start walking quickly towards the door, calling back over their shoulder at him. "Anything you need, just ask and I'll do my best to get it!"

The door shuts behind them and Ryo turns back to his mentor and sister's best friend, a little surprised by how kind Bee is. "They seem really nice."

"They are," Dampero agrees, nodding his head in agreement at this and smiling a little at the thought of them. "Bee's a really good person and you'd have to search really hard to find someone that genuinely cares as much about people as they do… I was hesitant at first with them, but they proved quickly that they care. And I'm glad they're my friend."

"I'm glad to have them as my escort," Ryo answers genuinely, feeling almost the love of a parent from Bee wanting to help him so much. More love than his mother had ever shown in taking care of him. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" Dampero asks as Bee returns, walking as quickly as they can with a mug in their hands and a blanket draped over their arm. They hand the drink to Ryo and he smells it, instantly letting out a small sigh of content at how delicious the chocolatey drink smells as Bee wraps him up in the blanket. Dampero watches them, an amused twinkle in his eyes before Bee finishes and sits back, motioning for Ryo to take a sip of his drink. "Ryo… I'm getting you home. I made a promise to your sister that I have every intention of keeping."

"And I'm going to help as much as possible!" Bee says happily, trying to look brave as they glance between Ryo and Dampero. "I feel so bad that I picked someone that Dampero knows…so I'll help however I can! I mean, I'm also going to help Carrie-Ann, but I'll especially help you because that's what friends do."

"I've never really had friends…" Ryo says softly as he takes a sip of the drink, immediately taking a much larger sip. "Oh this is really good." Ryo sets down the drink on the table in front of him before sitting back, pulling the blanket tighter around him before smiling at the two across from him. "So, how am I going to win?"

"I'll get you sponsors!" Bee says excitedly before starting to get the hiccups. "Excuse – _hiccup_ – me!"

"You'll need an ally," Dampero says softly, scratching the scruff on his face as he starts thinking, while Ryo studies him intently. He'll do whatever Dampero says. "Maybe you can get an ally a year or two older than you, someone who can balance out the skills you lack."

"Okay, I can do that," Ryo nods his head, trying to think back through the recap they watched hours ago, but already having forgotten about most of the tributes, aside from the girl from Ten that had a frantic look in her eyes and the boy from Four that fell down the steps. "What skills am I lacking?"

"Do you want the honest answer?" Dampero hesitantly asks, looking uncomfortable as Ryo nods his head rapidly. "Almost everything."

"Oh…" Ryo says, feeling a little upset for a moment at the answer, before knowing that he has plenty of opportunities to learn in the Capitol. Plenty of time to learn everything he needs to survive. "So what should I do?"

Dampero contemplates this for a few seconds as Ryo keeps sipping his drink, feeling surprisingly content for being on his way to the Capitol to fight in the Games. Bee continues to hiccup softly, using their hand to cover their mouth each time and looking apologetic about it. "Focus on weapons and trapping animals. You need to know how to kill and how to get food. Then you can find an ally that knows something about plants."

"Weapons, trapping, ally with plants, got it," Ryo repeats, nodding his head in agreement. "Is that what you did?"

"No," Dampero chuckles a little as he shakes his head and Bee looks amused by his reaction. "I did that but didn't have allies… It was best for me to not have allies."

"Then I'll do what you did!" Ryo says, thinking it's obvious that he should do exactly what Dampero did. Clearly it worked so why should he do something differently?

"No, no," Dampero says quickly, looking to Bee to help him. "You can't just do exactly what I did… It's better for you to have allies."

"Yes," Bee agrees, nodding their head rapidly and sending their antennae wiggling around again. "You can definitely benefit from allies!"

"Okay," Ryo slowly says, a little nervous about finding someone to be his ally… Dampero is right, he doesn't have any skills to offer to a potential ally. But who knows, maybe someone can be his friend in this arena?

 _He would like to finally have a friend._

* * *

 **Here we go with the first bunch of train rides! Any interactions between District partners surprise you? What do you think will happen with the career alliance? And could Frisk and Bee get any cuter? Let me know any other interactions you'd like to see between tributes during training because I have some plans, but there's still a lot I haven't planned.**

 **So as I've said on Senseless, updates are going to start slowing with my semester starting up in just over a week. But I'm going to alternate chapters of this and Senseless and I'm hoping to write one update every 2-3 weeks! Obviously that might not happen, but it is what it is. The updates will happen eventually.**

 **RQ #11: Hmm, how about you write me a haiku? It can literally be about anything, I'm curious what you will come up with XD**

 **Alright, see you next time with the second half of the train rides!**


	17. Train Rides Part 2

**Chapter 14:**

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

Tanelai is so screwed.

Stefan totally hates her for sneaking in to the Victor's Village and she's basically guaranteed her death without her mentor's support. Not that Ander seems to have better odds than her, sulking in his room after Caldara kept asking what she could do for him… Stefan hasn't said anything to him either since he was told that Ander got in trouble for punching someone before the Reaping.

Tanelai smiles a little to herself at that. They totally deserved it. If only she had been brave enough to punch Mirela…

"I'm sorry," Tanelai finally blurts out, unable to sit in the uncomfortable silence anyone. Stefan and Caldara turn to look over at her, making her turn her gaze back down to the table to avoid them seeing her get upset.

"Sorry for what?" Stefan asks and Tanelai glances up to see him scowling. She still can't get over the fact that this boy that is younger than her has already killed and now is supposed to train _her_. "Sorry that you're stuck with me, a 'kid'?" He uses his hands to make air quotes at this and Tanelai quickly shakes her head, watching Stefan grow more upset with her. Great, just great, she's doing so well at this. Might as well start digging her grave now.

Caldara moves her chair closer to Tanelai's, reaching out to start softly running her hand over Tanelai's head and smoothing her hair. "It's okay, dear, I'm also going to help you grow into a strong victor." Caldara pauses so she can look over at Stefan, giving him an encouraging smile while still smoothing over Tanelai's hair, somehow making her calm down despite the overwhelming panic coursing through her. "I'm going to help both tributes. Stefan deserves to have someone else by his side to help share the burden of mentoring."

Tanelai is surprised by how gentle the escort is, not knowing what she expected from a Capitolite. Maybe over the top behavior and constantly scolding her for things she does? She had hoped she never would meet one… She certainly didn't expect Caldara to be almost motherly to her.

Tanelai smiles tentatively at Caldara, wanting to hold on to this calm the escort is providing her. She's going to need it in the days to come. But she lets out a heavy sigh, knowing she needs to address what happened last week with Stefan. When she turns her gaze back to her mentor – District Seven's _only_ mentor – she's surprised to find the scowl relaxed a little as he stares over at Caldara.

Maybe Stefan isn't too different from her. Maybe he's also a stubborn teenager that just wants some comforting right now. It can't be easy for him, knowing he's the only one that has managed to win in Seven for the last 37 years…

"I'm sorry for sneaking into the Victor's Village," Tanelai blurts out, needing to get that out of the way in hopes Stefan will forget about it and move on to being willing to help her.

"What?" He asks her, scrunching his face in confusion for a few seconds before realization hits him. "That was you?"

Now it's Tanelai's turn to be confused. "I thought you realized this? And that's why you're not talking to me?"

"No," Stefan scoffs at this before giving Tanelai an exasperated look. "I just figured if I avoid talking to you for long enough I can pretend I'm not stuck trying to mentor again on my own." Stefan lets out a loud sigh that Tanelai can tell is just for dramatic effect, having done the same sigh herself. "I guess that's karma for you."

"Fuck karma," Tanelai blurts out, finding herself growing annoyed once more with Stefan. Screw him if he thinks she deserves to go into the games because she snuck into the Victor's Village because of stupid Mirela. "You know, if you don't want to help me at all, just tell me and I'll figure it out on my own." She raises an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to respond for a few seconds, but when he remains silent, she lets out her own dramatic sigh and stands up from the table. "Fine, I'll be in my room figuring out who to ally with."

"Sit back down," Stefan says immediately, making Tanelai pause to stare down at him. "Please…" The stubbornness is gone, replaced with a slightly pleading expression that has her slowly sitting back down. "Look, I know as little as you do about this whole mentoring thing," Stefan starts, sighing once more as he starts to pick at his nails. "I really don't know what I'm doing. My mentor was a useless Capitolite – sorry, Caldara."

Tanelai glances over at the escort, finding her pursing her lips a little before briefly nodding her head at Stefan. "None taken. Baris didn't care to help you grow into a strong victor."

Stefan actually gives her the smallest smile at this, making the escort reach out to take ahold of his hand. Tanelai can only watch in confusion. This person is not the one she has seen before. He…really looks like a kid in that moment. A kid that has been put through too much already.

"Now," Stefan clears his throat, resorting back to his normal stubborn expression. Tanelai watches him carefully, wanting to work with him. "You're stubborn, I can tell that already." He holds up a hand, stopping Tanelai from trying to protest it. "Seriously? Don't even deny that."

Tanelai crosses her arms and grumbles to herself, knowing he's right but not wanting to admit it. Her stubbornness was either what Daram loved or hated about her, depending on the day. "Maybe I'm a little stubborn."

"So am I," Stefan offers, smirking a little at Tanelai's reaction before starting to frown. "Like I said, I don't know what advice to give you aside from just what I did… Being stubborn kept me alive in that arena. So _please_ stay stubborn in that arena. I…" He trails off, looking hesitant to keep speaking, before continuing at a much softer volume, making Tanelai barely catch what he says. "I don't want to keep doing this alone."

"You're not alone," Caldara says immediately, trying to reassure Stefan. But Tanelai is left staring at her mentor, feeling her heart breaking for this boy that's only a year younger than her.

Is this going to be her next year if she wins?

"I'm going to win," Tanelai speaks up, drawing Stefan and Caldara's attention back towards her. She stubbornly hits her fist on the table, "I have too much to fight for and I am not letting Daram see me die in that arena. And damn it, I'm also going to win so you don't have to do this alone anymore."

She's met with silence and as it continues on, she slowly sits back in her chair, trying not to draw attention to herself. She grows more awkward with each second that they don't respond, only making her start feeling like she shouldn't have spoken up at all.

"Tanelai…" Stefan starts softly and she searches his face, finding his eyes looking on the verge of tears. "That's all I want."

* * *

 _Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight_

Kilroy is beyond pissed at this point. Hard not to be when she's off to her almost guaranteed death. If stupid fucking Blaise Janek did get her rigged in…is there any chance they'll let her out? Unlikely.

But she sure as hell is going to go out fighting.

Kilroy keeps angrily stabbing the steak on her plate, muttering to herself and punctuating each word with another stab. "Stupid fucking Blaise Janek."

 _And she doesn't even get to be part of the revenge for Drusa._

"Oy, I made sure it was dead already," Maeryn speaks up, bringing Kilroy's muttering to a stop to look up at her escort. Kilroy raises an eyebrow at her comment, glancing back down at the steak she's thoroughly stabbed into a mess on her plate.

"You cooked this?" Kilroy asks, picking up a piece and staring at it intently. Huh, can't say she ever expected to be eating food cooked by _the_ Chef Mae. "At least I'll be eating well my last few days."

"Oh shut it, you're not quitting on me," Maeryn says quickly and Kilroy waits for another insult from her. Now that the initial shock of being reaped is over, Kilroy can admit that the insults are pretty good. If she somehow actually makes it home alive, she might start using some of them with the gang. _God, she would love to see Faustus' face when she calls him an idiot sandwich._ "Look, I know life sucks, you just got reaped. Whoop-dee-doo, it's the end of the world!"

Kilroy purses her lips at this because saying it sucks that she was reaped might be the biggest understatement. "I was almost free of the Reapings forever. And now I'm here with probably no chance of being allowed to win so yeah, I would say that life might just suck a little bit." Kilroy managed to make Maeryn fall silent at this and she watches her escort share a concerned look with Rami. "Yeah, spoiler alert, I'm probably not winning." She lets out a loud sigh before mumbling to herself, clenching her fists in anger, "Not if Blaise Janek has anything to do with it."

"That's a load of horse shit," Maeryn finally speaks up, making Kilroy start scowling. They just don't understand and she can't say anything to them. Mentioning her involvement with the gang will all but guarantee she has no chance and probably get them killed in the process. "As long as I'm around, you're getting your best shot at victory. And Rami here is sure as hell not sitting on their ass."

"Of course not," Rami scoffs at Maeryn's accusation that they're going to do nothing to help Kilroy. "You're not getting all the credit for bringing home a victor, Maeryn."

"It's Chef Mae, _not_ Maeryn," she spits out, but Kilroy can see in her mismatched eyes that the escort has a bit of respect for Rami standing up to her. The escort glances around before starting to scratch her tattoo on her forehead, sighing very loudly. "I swear, Hessian better be talking to Iannis and bringing him to dinner, not hiding somewhere on the train." She stands up quickly before stomping off, her boots loudly echoing around them, "I'll be back."

Rami sighs loudly as Maeryn slams the door behind her, starting to pour themself a glass of wine. "I wish she would take it easy on him… Thirteen years is not enough time to get over his own mother choosing him to go into the games with her and then watching her die." They take a long sip of their wine, staring at Kilroy as she starts stabbing her steak once more. "So…why do I feel like I've met you before? It's unlikely because most tributes cannot afford to shop at my store."

Kilroy smirks a little at this, happy to know that her disguises have worked enough that Rami doesn't recognize her. The gang would be so happy to know this information…too bad she's never going to be able to tell them. "Oh I can afford it, or rather, my uncle can. You have seen me before, just not looking like this."

Rami raises their well-groomed eyebrows at this, taking another long sip of their wine as they stare at Kilroy, trying to figure out who she is. "I see… Well, Kilroy, I won't sugar coat things for you."

"Good, I don't want you to," Kilroy interrupts them, getting a look of pride from them. "Give it to me straight, tell me exactly what I need to do to fuck shit up in the arena for the prissy bitches that trained for this bullshit."

There's a couple seconds of silence before Rami laughs softly at this, setting down their wine glass to point over at her. "I like you. You've got the fire in you that is necessary to become a victor."

"Yeah, about that…" Kilroy says, cracking her knuckles as she tries to figure out exactly what she can tell them. "I really don't think I'll be allowed to be victor for…reasons that I can't say…" Rami continues to stare at her, confusion growing on their face with each passing second. Kilroy knows they're trying to figure her out and she doesn't blame them. She would be very curious too if the situation was reversed. She holds up her hands for them to see, showing off the wounds on her knuckles in various states of healing. "I'm not exactly a model citizen of Panem…"

A few more seconds pass in silence and Kilroy starts bracing herself for Rami completely rejecting her, refusing to work with her. It wouldn't be the first time she's had to fight for herself and she'll do it if she has to. Hell, maybe she can even get Maeryn to help her out – the chef might be blunt and rude, but she does at least seem to want to get one of them home, no matter what.

"We don't know for sure that you can't win," Rami finally says, folding their hands on the table in front of them as they stare over at Kilroy. "I know people and have ways of figuring out this information. And until we know, I'm going to do everything to fight for your victory."

Not many things surprise Kilroy, but that bombshell certainly does. Part of her doesn't want to have confirmation that she's going to die…but it's best if she knows. She can start preparing herself now. "And if we do find out?"

Rami shrugs at this, getting a small smirk on their face as they look over at Kilroy and she knows they're not going to sugarcoat whatever they say next. "Then we make sure you give those 'prissy bitches' hell in that arena."

* * *

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

Garth can think of a million places he would rather be right now than sitting on a train with _Fonio Donnan._ Of all people, this guy had to be his mentor? Fuck…he's going into the Hunger Games and has to work with the person who caused Harlow to leave him…

No. Garth did that to himself. Fonio was just being his normal, asshole self.

"But why would my mother never tell me about these things?" Gwenith continues to plead with Haider, the other victor being way more patient with the young girl than Fonio ever would be. Tears have been non-stop pouring down her face as Haider had to delicately explain to her everything. She still thinks that herself and Garth are bad people and that's why they were picked…and Garth deserves that. He completely deserves to be told he's a bad person.

But so does Fonio.

Garth continues to glare over at Fonio, refusing to talk to his mentor. He barely listens to Haider and Gwenith, too focused on keeping his glare on Fonio. This man ruined everything. If he hadn't come in and tried to bribe him with double the pay, Garth never would have tried to sleep with him. He never would have been caught by Kimbra and Harlow never would have found out what he does. Garth lets out a heavy sigh at that thought. He should have just told Harlow what he did. Surely if he just grown a spine and stopped lying to Harlow, if he just took the time to explain everything, surely Harlow wouldn't have left him.

"Look, kid," Fonio starts, giving Garth just the faintest hint of a flirty smile that makes him hate himself inside for _still_ managing to find him attractive after everything he's done. Or rather, everything that Garth did. His mentor thankfully turns his attention to Gwenith and he gives her a casual shrug. "Your mother lied to you. You're going into a fight to the death against a lot of older kids, kids that have trained. I'm not going to sugar coat your odds of living, but they're basically non-existent."

It takes a few seconds of tears silently falling down Gwenith's face before she starts letting out loud sobs at this. "I'm not a bad person though!" She shouts before running off to towards their rooms.

Haider stands up right away to follow her, only stopping to shake his head at Fonio. "You're a real dick sometimes and make me regret getting you out of the arena."

Garth wishes that Haider hadn't gotten Fonio out of the arena either, but he can't say that as the older victor leaves them. Leaves him behind with the person he hates almost as much as himself.

"So Garth," Fonio says, picking up a drink and swirling it in his hand for a few seconds before turning back to Garth, lazy smirk on his face. "You know, you've done a good job of avoiding me the past three months. It's a shame."

"I don't want anything to do with you," Garth says quietly, hating the way his voice is shaking. Shaking in a terrible mix of anger, regret, and…he hates it, but a bit of attraction. Hard not to with the way Fonio is staring at him, eyeing him up. "Stop looking at me like that! You ruined everything for me! I lost the one person that meant something to me because of you…"

"Garth, that was not my fault," Fonio says casually, looking down at his nails briefly as if he isn't bothered at all by Garth becoming increasingly more upset. "You were a whore – possibly still a whore – and it was only a matter of time before your little girlfriend-"

"Boyfriend," Garth interrupts, feeling his heart ache at just saying the word. "She was his sister."

"Oh even spicier," Fonio chuckles before getting up out of his seat. Garth nervously watches him as he slowly walks over to Garth, hating the fact that after everything, he still is effected by the way Fonio is looking at him. "It was only a matter of time before you were caught. I just happened to be the person that night." Garth presses back in his chair, trying to get as far away from Fonio as the victor stops in front of his chair and puts his hands on the arm rests, leaning forward to stare at Garth intently. He tries to get his heart rate to slow and stop the flush on his face, but he knows Fonio sees his reaction from the way the victor's smirk grows. "Now the question is what help you're willing to take from me."

"I don't want anything from you," Garth shakes his head at this, trying to convince himself that it's true. "I'm not sleeping with you."

Fonio laughs at this and moves back, thankfully giving Garth some room to breathe. "You said it, not me," Fonio continues to laugh while Garth wishes he could just slip away and stop this embarrassment. "I wouldn't complain if you change your mind. But the others don't have to know that."

"What others?" Garth asks quickly, anxiety already creeping in at anyone else finding out what he does. "I'm not telling people what I do. Not even my family knows what I do for them."

"So noble," Fonio shakes his head as he sits down on the arm of Garth's chair, making him move as far as he can to the other side of the chair. Anything to keep from accidentally touching the victor. "Tell me, Garth, do you want to live?"

Garth thinks it over for a few seconds, knowing he doesn't have the best odds – hell, probably half the tributes have greater odds than him. But he has too many people counting on him. And there's still that faintest glimmer of hope that maybe, _just_ maybe, if he makes it home, he can try to fix things with Harlow. "Yes," he finally whispers, feeling a pit of terror forming in his stomach at the thought of dying.

"Good," Fonio responds, looking down at Garth and raising an eyebrow. "Look, you've probably noticed that I don't sugarcoat things. Your odds aren't great, unless you have some secret training."

"No…" Garth says quietly, wishing he had something better to help him out. Something that could get him to count on himself and less on Fonio.

"Well I can get you sponsors," Fonio answers confidently, even making Garth believe that he really can convince people to sponsor poor weak Garth. "I can make you more popular than the careers. All I have to do is let slip that we're sleeping together."

"But we're not," Garth says quickly before wishing he didn't when he sees the look on Fonio's face, almost looking offended by his statement. His anxiety starts creeping up and he shakes his head, wishing he didn't feel the need to make _Fonio_ , of all people, not be disappointed in him. "I'm sorry, but no… Not after how things were ruined the first time."

"Fine," Fonio says, giving a very heavy sigh that makes Garth feel a bit of guilt as his mentor stands up, starting to move back to his own chair. "I tried to help you but I guess you just want to die."

"I don't…" Garth whispers to himself, but Fonio hears him and turns back to look at him, cocky look on his handsome face. "I don't want to die."

Fonio shrugs at him, sticking his hands into his pockets as he stares over at Garth. "Your choice. Take my help with the sponsors or probably die."

Garth stares at his mentor before rubbing his eyes at the stress of this. He doesn't want to die. He can't, not when his family needs him. And he wants to get home to try and explain everything to Harlow… But if Fonio tells people this, his family will know. Harlow will know.

Well, Harlow already knows. What's the worst that could happen now if he thinks Garth is sleeping with Fonio?

"Fine," Garth finally whispers, already hating this decision. But what can he do? Fonio is right, the Capitol will love this… Garth just wishes that there was some alternative way to get just as many sponsors. "But I'm _never_ sleeping with you again. Not after you ruined everything."

* * *

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten_

Jinx can't stop nervously giggling as the group sits around by the TV in awkward silence, no one bringing up the elephant – or rather, the small girl – in the room. She can see their curious glances at her, particularly from Johan who mentioned briefly that he'll be her mentor. Alphys has remained quiet, awkwardly going through her notes and looking at the rest of them occasionally. Beau jumps a little each time Jinx giggles, making her start frowning that he seems afraid of her now. He was so kind to her in the line before the Reaping, but that seems to have disappeared.

She clutches the beaded necklace she wears that Sally gave to her on her birthday, wishing so desperately that she was back home with Sally. She has to get home to her best friend. And when she does, surely Sally will want to be with her since she'll be safe and a victor!

"So," Jinx finally says, growing bored from the silence on the train. The silence is only making her question why she did this after Sally said it's not right that she has to kill to get home. But she had to volunteer or they would have caught her. The others all turn their gaze to her, showing various degrees of surprise on their faces that she spoke up, making her nervously giggle again. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

Johan shares a look with Danila, his former mentor and fellow victor, before turning his gaze back to Jinx and giving her a reassuring smile. Jinx grins back at him, giggling again as she waits to see what he has to say. "Well Jinx… I think we're all a little curious about why you volunteered."

Her smile falters at this and the sense of calm she had gotten from Johan's kind gaze disappears, making her once again laugh nervously out of paranoia. She can't tell them why she really volunteered. No one can know that or they'll kill her in the games and she can't do that, she has to get back home to Sally. She can't trust these people at all to not tell the President immediately that she is a murderer if they found out what she did to Gavin, even if it was an accident. "I had to for Sally."

Jinx can see on her mentor's face that Johan knows there's more to her answer. He glances at the three around them before standing up, giving Jinx a small smile as he motions for her to follow him. "Come on, let's go talk somewhere else."

Jinx hesitates for a moment before jumping up from the couch, giggling as she nods her head at Johan. "Okay," she responds, following him as he makes his way over to the next train carriage.

Johan waits to speak up until they are sitting by the window and Jinx watches the scenery pass by for a few seconds, knowing from the mountains rising in the distance that they must be getting close to District Two. How much longer do they have on the train before they reach the Capitol? Will there be Peacekeepers waiting there for her, to arrest her and keep her from participating in anything until the games start?

Jinx is nervously giggling at this thought when Johan clears his throat, bringing her attention back to him. "Look, Jinx, I want to help you. I really do. I know from Elaine that you're a good person who happens to do some bad things…" Johan pauses for a few seconds as he stares over at Jinx swinging her feet in her chair, smiling at him saying she's good, just like Sally does! "But to help you, you need to trust me. I can't help you if I don't know what you're capable of or why you volunteered."

Something about Johan has Jinx trusting him and wanting to share why she volunteered. She opens her mouth to speak and stops herself from blurting out that she killed Gavin. She nervously laughs as she looks around them, not knowing if there are any cameras watching them. But Johan thinks she's good… he needs to know so he can help her. "I want to but I can't say why…"

Johan follows her gaze around the room and when he turns back, there's a knowing glint in his eyes that has Jinx trusting him even more. He understands her, despite not knowing her. "Why don't you tell me about Sally?"

"She's my best friend!" Jinx immediately blurts out, grinning at just the mention of Sally. "I'm going to win for her!"

Johan nods his head at this, giving her a small smile. "Elaine has also told me about Sally. She tells me about all of her students and Sally seems like a very nice girl. I can understand why you want to win for her. Did you volunteer for something to do with Sally?"

Jinx slowly nods her head at this, nervous giggle escaping as she glances around once more. Are they listening? Just waiting for her to confess to Gavin's murder? Well she's not going to. They're never going to get her confession. "Yes," she answers, turning her gaze back to Johan. She starts frowning at the realization that Sally would think that what she did wasn't good. All she wants is for Sally to tell her that she's a good girl… "I did something that I think…I think Sally would say is bad… But I don't want to be bad! I want to be a good girl because Sally tells me I am one!"

"We've all done bad things," Johan answers softly and Jinx finds herself not believing that this kind man in front of her has done bad things. "And I'm afraid you're going to have to keep doing bad things if you want to get out of the arena alive."

"Oh I'm going to," Jinx rapidly nods her head at this, sending her hair flying around her head and making Johan crack a faint smile. "I'm going to win for Sally!"

"I'll do my best to help you win," Johan smiles at her, but it quickly fades into a look of concern. "But Jinx… You do realize that you just volunteered to kill people, right?"

"Yep, the games are legal murdering!" Jinx blurts out, followed by a giggle as she glances around the room again. Maybe she shouldn't have called it that. Will they start putting together that she was the one that killed Gavin? Probably not. She turns back to Johan, giving him a big grin to reassure him that she'll be fine in the games. She's already killed one person and didn't feel remorse, only guilt that Sally was upset. So she shouldn't have any problem killing more, especially because her return will make Sally happy. "Don't worry, I'm going to make it through these games. And then I'll be safe as a victor!"

Johan sighs at this, but still tries to give her a reassuring look. Jinx was so lucky to have him choose to be her mentor, he really seems to want to help her, despite Danila saying her odds of winning are low. "Jinx, you have a long journey ahead of you towards becoming victor."

"I know," Jinx giggles at this, knowing she can do it. She has to do it. There's no way she can let Sally be sad by seeing her die in the games. "But I have to win for Sally!"

* * *

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District Eleven_

No matter how long Addae stares up at the ceiling, sleep won't come to him. He knows why as the pit in his stomach of twisting nerves has only continued to grow ever since he stepped foot on the train. He's heading into the most cursed part of Panem…who knows what terrible supernatural forces Addae will face in the Capitol?

But at least his uneasiness is not over his decision to volunteer… He does not regret that at all, especially after spending the evening with Garia and Maddie, innocents caught in this terrible curse on Panem. They have reaffirmed what he's thought for years: that he must win to help break the curse on Panem. His unease is over the others that he must face in the arena.

Addae had spent plenty of time earlier carefully studying the other tributes from the small glimpses he saw from the Reapings. The spirits have always guided him towards recognizing good souls and those that are cursed, and he was surprised by some of the ones that appeared to him as innocents caught in the Panem curse. Some of them were obvious to even those that aren't connected to the spirits… Ryo, Tanelai, tiny Gwenith, Beau. Others surprised him as they had volunteered for this. But he trusts his instincts and knows there's something good inside Pyrite, Digit and Muir. And he's a little hopeful that maybe they were also sent along the path to volunteer for the same reason he did, without them knowing it. The spirits work in many ways, some that can sometimes make no sense.

Then there were a few that required some mediation to see they are good tributes. Virote, Carrie-Ann, and Iannis…Yes, he heard the whispers of the spirits and those three are also good, even if first glance might have suggested otherwise.

He can only hope that none of these tributes threaten him in the arena. He wouldn't want the spirits to attack someone that is good, should he die.

Then there were those with curses. Addae could sense two types: those innocently cursed, and those that do the cursing. Maddie falls into the first group, along with Pride, Lincoln, Oleander, and Garth. Those were the ones that Addae is fighting the urge to help, constantly having to remind himself that they must die if he is going to win and free Panem. But still…he cannot leave their souls cursed to be taken by the darkest supernatural forces when they die. And he did promise his grandmother that he would at least help out his poor District partner. Against his better judgement, he at least wants to say a prayer for each of them.

But the others? Those send a chill down Addae's spine at the thought of what terrible supernatural forces must have latched on to them. There were four people Addae is going to steer clear of, people he doesn't even want to think the names of in case it brings evil forces to him… The District Two pair, the girl from Five, and the girl from Eight…

Then there were two tributes that no matter what meditation Addae did, he could not figure out what is going on with them. The boy from Three was unexpected. Addae didn't see it at first. But sure enough, after watching the Reapings a second time, he was able to see that spark of someone who is involved in the supernatural. But Addae cannot tell if Beta is using his skills for good, something that has him on edge. He does not want to face someone who is actively using the evil spirits. And then there is the girl from Ten. Seeing a thirteen-year-old volunteer had made him cautious right away, but he doesn't know what it is about her. It's almost as if she has a good soul that dark spirits are trying to take.

Addae glances over at the clock sitting on the desk next to him, sighing at the time. _11:59 pm_. He doesn't like this uncertainty about the tributes and surely that's what is keeping him awake. He will need to find some wood during training to make a charm of the all seeing eye to help guide him towards the correct answer. He must know if these are to be trusted or-

Addae sits up suddenly in bed, clutching his necklace for protection as he stares around the room. A chill spreads down his whole body as he can feel the terrible dark stickiness of a curse trying to latch on to people. Ever so slowly, he turns his gaze over to the clock, and can feel his heart rate start increasing as he realizes the time.

 _Midnight._

Addae slams his hand onto his necklace, quietly muttering a protection spell over himself. Midnight is the perfect time for those casting curses. And how could he have forgotten that tonight is a full moon.

The terrible iciness in his chest doesn't dissipate immediately, making Addae start breaking out into a nervous sweat as he stares around his room, fully expecting to see dark forces coming to curse him.

Someone is casting a curse on him. Well…Addae can't be certain it is only on him. For all he knows, it could be whoever has laid the curse on Panem. He's known for years the Hunger Games are a result of this curse, so why didn't he expect to feel this now that he's a tribute?

Suddenly, Addae doesn't feel prepared to take all of this on… He should have prepared more, made more protection charms, studied more about the supernatural forces. He should have waited another year to volunteer, taken the time to make sure he could really face this alone.

He starts shaking his head at this thought right away, knowing he could not let another year pass with innocents suffering when he could have stopped it. He also couldn't risk his parents forcing his sister to volunteer instead to stop this.

There's no changing the past and the decisions Addae made, so he will have to keep facing the future. But one thing is certain…this is going to be more challenging than he ever anticipated. Whoever set this curse on Panem is clearly willing to do whatever it takes to stop Addae from succeeding.

But he refuses to fail.

* * *

 **Phew I finally got through all of these lol, that was more difficult than I expected. But anyways, here we are, second round of train rides! Anything surprise you? Which one was your favorite?**

 _ **SUBMITTER CHECK IN**_ **TIME!** **Okay, I just want to see when everyone has reached this point. So if you've submitted a tribute, featured or non-featured, please send me a PM with the date you read this, just to let me know you're still reading!**

 **RQ #12:** What's your favorite season? I like fall the best - not as hot and gross as summer and (usually) no snow yet, plus Halloween and my birthday!

 **Alrighty, next chapter we're finally going to start seeing everyone start interacting! We'll be checking in with Pyrite for the chariot rides!**


	18. The Chariot Rides

**Trigger warning for feelings of some dysphoria in Pyrite's first section.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15:**

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

Pyrite doesn't want to mention to the people working on perfecting their appearance that they're honestly quite nervous about tonight. Thetis had made it seem like the chariots were such a big deal and told them so many different things that they should be doing. They should be waving at the crowd and smiling, but not too much so they still seem mysterious. But they can't wave too little or the crowd will think they don't want anything to do with them.

Then there's the issue of talking to the other careers… Pyrite really shouldn't be nervous about them taking Pride with them, and yet…they made a promise to him and they're not intending on doing the wrong thing and breaking it.

But the main source of their nerves is waiting to find out what their stylist has created… Everyone has seen the outfits they've made for those in Pyrite's spot in years past, most of them way too feminine and revealing for Pyrite. Just the thought of being put in a dress tonight is sending Pyrite back to those years of struggling to figure out _why_ they never felt right when people called them a girl. It's enough to send them back to before they were incredibly comfortable with their identity and knowing why there are days when they don't feel feminine at all. And Pyrite hates the feeling. It's a feeling that hasn't really been there in years, except for on the few occasions some assholes intentionally misgender them. But what can they do? Tell one of the prep assistants or their stylist that they want them to possibly change up their entire design and make a new outfit for them? They can't…they don't want to seem disrespectful to the Capitol for speaking out.

Pyrite lets out a sigh when there's a knock on the door, sending the youngest girl on her prep team squealing in excitement as she runs to get the door. Their heart rate quickens from their nerves as a young, nervous looking woman steps into the room, brushing back her dark bangs and pushing up her cat eye glasses that have slipped down her nose. "Hello," she says softly as she sets down her jacket and two garment bags before smoothing out her dress. "I'm Sonja Morvay and, uh, I'm your stylist. Right?" Sonja glances at the three people on the prep team who all nod their head rapidly at Sonja's question. The woman who can't be much older than Pyrite turns back to them, slight nervous flush on her cheeks as she holds out her heavily tattooed hand to Pyrite. "Sorry I'm new to this and still not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be doing or what formalities there are."

"Well I'm new to this too," Pyrite answers, hoping to get Sonja to relax a little. And after a few seconds, Sonja does let out a tiny laugh mixed with a sigh and tries to smile more confidently at Pyrite. "So…what am I wearing tonight?" Pyrite asks nervously, but also growing curious about why there are two garment bags sitting nearby.

Sonja squeals in excitement at this question, just making Pyrite smile at her because she's just adorable at getting excited about her work. "Okay this is something I've been working on for a while and I want to make it be the main piece in my next collection-"

"You have a collection?" Pyrite asks, watching as Sonja nods her head rapidly, sending her short black hair flying around. She picks out a couple pieces that got stuck in her red lipstick before returning to the two bags of clothes. "Like…fashion collection?"

"Yes!" Sonja is practically beaming at this and starting to push away some of Pyrite's nerves. She just seems so sweet and innocent, maybe she'll possibly be willing to work with Pyrite to make them an outfit they'll be in more comfortable in. "I have my own designer line and someone in the Games saw it and wanted me to become a stylist. And I obviously couldn't say no to that, even though I never thought about it before, because who can say no to being part of the Games? And, well, here I am, placed with you for my first year!" Sonja takes a deep breath after that long bit of rambling, smiling apologetically at Pyrite. "Sorry…I talk a lot when I get excited about things and designing is one of them."

"Don't apologize for having a passion," Pyrite smiles encouragingly at her as she tries to busy herself, not wanting to look at Pyrite in case they tell her to stop talking so much.

Sonja nods her head a little before focusing again on the two garment bags. "So, chariots. You identify as bigender, correct?" Pyrite raises their eyebrows in shock at the question before slowly nodding their head. They never expected that question. They were expecting the worst from their stylist to mentally prepare themself for what they might go through tonight. "Okay when I found that out, I wanted to give you two options of what to wear because I don't want you feeling uncomfortable at all. So," Sonja motions over one of the girls to help her with unzipping the bags, revealing a lot of gold sparkles. Sonja takes out three items, giving the gold suit jacket to one of the prep team members to hold while Sonja holds up a matching pencil skirt and pair of pants. "Pants or skirt?"

Pyrite stares at Sonja in shock for a few seconds, becoming aware of the extended silence as their stylist starts to nervously bite her lip and avoid Pyrite's stare. "Why?" Pyrite finally asks, breaking the silence and bringing Sonja's gaze back up to theirs, a nervousness still present. "Why are you doing this? You don't have to. You could have just walked right in and told me I had to wear what you made…"

"I'm supposed to help you make a great first impression," Sonja says softly as she fidgets with her fingers. "How am I supposed to do that if I force you into clothes you're uncomfortable with?"

Slowly, a grin forms on Pyrite's face before they point over at one of the choices. "Can I have the pants please? And you're awesome."

Sonja's face flushes as she lets out a little squeak at the compliment before turning her head down, letting her hair try to cover her face. "I'm hardly cool, I just want people to be happy and feel good." Sonja glances at the watch on her wrist before turning back up to Pyrite. "Okay we don't have much time so we need to get you dressed."

"Okay," Pyrite answers cheerfully, their fears partially suppressed as they don't protest the team frantically getting them dressed. They're just glad that Sonja is so understanding…they don't know how, but they want to find a way to make it up to her.

Pyrite can tell their team is done when Sonja steps back and lets out a squeal of delight, clapping her hands together in front of her and just beaming at Pyrite. "You're going to look so stunning in the lights!"

"Can I see?"

Sonja starts nodding her head rapidly and Pyrite slowly grins as the stylist takes their arm, leading them over to the mirror. They turn their eyes down for a second, again feeling nervous that the prep team will have made them look… _wrong_. But Sonja gives them a reassuring squeeze on their arm, making them slowly look up.

First thing Pyrite feels is just relief. Relief that they still look like themself. Granted, it's a very dressed up version of themself and they have never worn anything as out there as the gold pantsuit they now wear, already sparkling a ton in the lights of the room. Sonja is right, this suit is going to look stunning in the lights. Pyrite almost pushes their hair back, stopping just before touching it when they hear their team let out screeches at the action. "Sorry," they say with a chuckle before leaning forward to look closer at the gold spray they put in their short platinum hair, matching it perfectly to their suit.

Pyrite finally turns to Sonja, finding the stylist nervously wringing her hands as she waits for Pyrite's reaction. "Well?"

"I think it's amazing," Pyrite answers honestly, smiling some more when Sonja immediately starts grinning. "I just hope the crowd thinks the same thing…"

Pyrite lets out a nervous sigh, feeling anxious once more about the chariots. But this time, out of worry that the crowd won't be accepting of them. It's a dumb reason to be nervous as the Capitol has rarely not supported tributes from District One…but still, they can't stop the nerves twisting their stomach.

"They're going to love you," Sonja says softly and Pyrite finds themself believing her completely. She's proven she cares since the moment she walked in the door. "Now let's go show them the next victor!"

Pyrite chuckles as the prep team claps excitedly at this statement, hoping they make them proud tonight and in the Games. They start getting motioned over to the door as Sonja grabs her jacket. "That's always been my plan."

Sonja smiles at them as they step out and she starts leading the way over to the elevator, putting on her leather jacket as they walk. Pyrite looks it over as they reach the elevator doors. "Hey I like your jacket, it's really cool."

Sonja giggles happily at this as they step onto the elevator and she presses the ground level button. "Thank you!" She responds as she bounces on her feet, grinning up at Pyrite. "It's part of my recent spring collection. I was so excited when I watched the Reapings and saw Bee wearing one of my jackets! And they looked so cute in it."

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing them wearing a new jacket," Pyrite says as they step out onto the main floor and start looking around to see who has arrived already. Pyrite gets a long stare from the boy from Eleven as they walk past, making them a little unsettled by the way he doesn't break eye contact. The girl from Ten is giggling as she talks to her District partner, looking around in wonder. But the boy from Nine is a stark contrast, avoiding Pyrite's stare. Pyrite glances ahead, finding the escort that Sonja seems to have a big crush on standing at their chariot, talking to Dampero as they watch the tributes stand there awkwardly in their costumes. "Why don't you talk to them?"

But a squeal from Sonja has them turning back to look at her, but not before seeing the escort glancing over at the noise. Pyrite finds Sonja with her hands covered over her mouth and a deep blush forming on her cheeks. "I could never, I'm too scared!"

"I'll help you talk to them," Pyrite turns back around, watching where they're going and staying quiet as they walk past the District Six team. But when they catch Bee looking over more than expected at Sonja, they can't help but start grinning. They wait to speak up until they've past the District Five tributes having their lights double checked and a very nervous looking Muir in Four, who Pyrite gives a nod of their head at, getting a timid smile in return. "You know," Pyrite leans over to Sonja to whisper, "I'm a very good wing person back home with my friends. I can help you talk to them."

Sonja is shaking her head as they pass the District Three chariot, the boy staring at Pyrite with wide eyes behind a pair of glasses he wasn't wearing at the Reaping. "No, no," Sonja says quickly as Pyrite stands taller as they approach the District Two chariot. They know both of the tributes have their eyes on them and Pyrite refuses to let them think less of them, just because they're with a reaped tribute. "Please just focus on tonight."

"I will," Pyrite answers quietly as they approach Pride, standing in an identical outfit to Pyrite that has them grinning. "Nice outfit."

"Likewise," he answers with a chuckle, before the nerves start to make his smile falter. "Are you nervous?"

Pyrite glances back, finding Ampora staring over at them. They try to give her a confident smile and they must succeed because Ampora returns it before turning back to her stylist and rolling her eyes at whatever they say. They turn back to Pride, leaning over and keeping their voice low in case there's any chance the District Two tributes can hear them over the muted cheers of the crowd. "Yes but don't let them see you."

"Who?" Pride asks in confusion before Pyrite sees the realization cross his face. He nods his head at this and puffs up his chest. "Of course not. They already look full of themselves and I'm not giving them any more reason to doubt me."

"Good," Pyrite nods their head as they start absentmindedly cracking their knuckles and lightly jumping from foot to foot as it hits them that they're about to go out in front of the Capitol and they're up first. They take a deep breath, trying to imagine what their friends would tell them if they were here to help calm their nerves. Joy would be calling them Pirate while Hera insists this is just like going on stage. And if they can handle that, surely they can handle this.

"Hey Pyrite?"

"Yeah?" Pyrite responds, realizing they had been zoning out and smiling a little as they think about their friends back home. Pride is looking over at them, keeping his back to the tributes behind them so they don't see his nervousness. "You're not going to abandon me after this to talk to them, right?"

"Of course not," Pyrite answers immediately, starting to frown at the thought of Pride thinking they would abandon him. "I made a promise that I intend on keeping."

"Tributes, please prepare for departure."

Pyrite starts grinning at Pride at this, faking a little bit of confidence to help squash the nerves in their stomach. "Now how about we show them that District One still is a force to be reckoned?"

* * *

 _Claudia Flickerman, Host for the Hunger Games_

Claudia wishes they never would have hired an announcer for the Games last year. She had done just fine for the four years prior on her own. She really didn't need someone else with her. She _especially_ doesn't need someone as arrogant and full of himself as Elliot Templesmith is.

And she really hates the fact that he is so flirtatious…

"Claudia, you know scowling is only going to make you get wrinkles earlier," Elliot taunts as he takes his spot next to her.

Claudia snaps her compact mirror shut, pursing her lips as she stares ahead for a moment, trying to fight the urge to comment back that she will charge the bills to fix the wrinkles to him. "Even then, I would still be better looking than you."

Elliot roars in laughter at this, only making Claudia's lip twitch in annoyance. She wasn't trying to joke with him. She was dead serious, she's better looking than him. If he got rid of his scraggly beard, then maybe the red head could try to compete. But probably not. "Claudia, you'll always be the more attractive of us two. I'd have to be blind not to see that."

Claudia nearly starts smiling smugly at his statement before realizing it was also a compliment, and stops before Elliot can see her reaction. She glances over at him as the stage crew indicates one minute before they're live, finding him resting his chin on his elbow propped on the table in front of them, just watching her with a flirty smirk. "Elliot, how about you do your damn job and stop trying to flirt with me?"

Elliot holds up his hands defensively, still keeping that smirk on his face. "You're the one that said it, not me."

Claudia is left stunned for a moment before turning away from him, silently fuming at how cocky he is. Damn it, she hates working with him. He just knows exactly how to get under her skin and annoy her right before she's about to be on live television.

They're given the countdown from five seconds and Claudia lets out a deep breath before putting a smile on her face, blocking out her annoyance at Elliot. She can deal with him later.

 _At least she does the interviews on her own._

"Good evening Panem," Claudia says cheerfully once the cameras have switched on, flipping into her public persona. And that persona does not get annoyed by the announcer that the Capitol hired to work with her. "I'm Claudia Flickerman and once again I have the honor of being your host for this year's Hunger Games! And joining me tonight is our announcer for the Games, returning for his second year, Elliot Templesmith."

"Don't sound too excited to see me, Claudia," Elliot says with a chuckle and Claudia fakes a small laugh for the crowd. "We all know you've been dying to get back to working with me."

"I think it's the other way around, Elliot," Claudia teases him, knowing the crowd likes their teasing from last year. Well, they said it was teasing, she calls it being annoyed by him. "But we're not here to talk about ourselves. We're here to discuss the 22 tributes that are about to make their way to the City Circle, marking the start of their journey here in the Capitol."

"Aye, we'll just have to talk about ourselves later," Elliot chuckles as off to the side, they're given the signal that the first chariot will be leaving. "And here comes District One!"

The District One chariot leaves the building, right away setting the bar high for the other costumes. "Oh they are truly dazzling," Claudia comments as the lights of the Capitol catch the sparkling gold pant suits both tributes wear. Pyrite and Pride both wave out at the crowd, earning cheers from the gathered people. Claudia is surprised they cheer as loudly as normal, considering Pride didn't volunteer, but she supposes it helps to be the younger brother of a victor. The Capitol has been curious about Pride, but they also have been spreading rumors about Thetis' inadequacy to get two volunteers.

"They're so dazzling I might need to put a pair of sunglasses on," Elliot jokes, pretending to look around at the crew. "Anyone have a pair? No? Ah, no matter, District Two is almost here."

When the second chariot first appears, Claudia is immediately confused by the behavior of the two. "Do they have stage fright? Well, happens to the best of- oh my, what great acting!" Claudia is dumb for not putting it together what the pair was doing, but it worked well. Covered head to toe in gray paint, even their hair turned silver, and with a gray toga that doesn't move in the wind, well, they've been turned into stone statues. And they kept up that appearance when they were first seen.

"Stone statues, very fitting for the masonry District," Elliot comments, choosing to ignore the obvious fact that everyone knows Two is also the military headquarters. Well, more like choosing to ignore it so he keeps his job. Now that the pair have started to move, they're winning over the crowd similarly to the pair from One. Stark stands there, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face as he looks out at the crowd, sending winks to a few people that are calling out his name. Ampora has a similar smirk on her face as she stands tall, looking proud to be representing her District as she waves at the people cheering for them. "They sure look ready to fight! Hopefully they won't disappoint!"

"District Two never does. Let's hope the pair fights together this year and doesn't self-implode by hating each other or getting feelings for each other," Claudia says, watching as the District Three chariot starts to appear. "Let's see what our next District has to offer. Hopefully not anything sad like District Three seems to always be."

The two tributes look incredibly awkward as they first appear, getting overwhelmed by the noise of the crowd. Their outfits certainly are different from what Claudia has seen before for Three, long navy robes covered in tiny LED lights. As the cameras zoom in on the lights, Claudia recognizes the patterns as Beta does the same, bringing up his right arm to stare at his sleeve in wonder with a brand new pair of glasses. "Oh how clever, the LED lights are patterned in different constellations!"

"Yes, the lights are a great use of the technology Three is known for," Elliot adds as Digit hesitant smiles and gives the crowd tiny waves. She seemingly gets nervous again and stops, saying something to Beta who takes a few seconds to look up at her before turning to the crowd, giving a short wave before getting overwhelmed by how loud the crowd is and covering up his ears. "Well, we can't all be brave right now, but those two seem sweet! It sure would be sad to see both of them die."

"Yeah it would be sad to see that one of them is doomed to die from a choice already made. But are you picking favorites already?" Claudia raises an eyebrow over at him. They're supposed to stay neutral about the tributes. "Or do you just like Beta because he has red hair like you?"

Elliot clears his throat, looking like he doesn't know how to answer this, making Claudia smug to have stumped him. "Oh look, here comes District Four!"

"Nice save there," Claudia mutters under her breath, getting a snort of laughter from Elliot. But sure enough, the District Four chariot is appearing, bringing with it another pair of awkward tributes, butt at least their outfits look good. Link desperately is holding on to the chariot, turning his knuckles white, but Claudia can't blame him after what happened at the Reaping. The stylists have dressed him up as a pirate, looking as if he just stepped off of the raging seas, even utilizing his missing eye with a well-placed eye patch. "Oh it looks like Link is a pirate that has managed to catch a mermaid!"

"I think they got some inspiration from Mari Sol with Muir's costume," Elliot says and Claudia finds herself nodding in agreement. Muir looks exactly like her escort, wearing a mermaid tail and, of course, a seashell bra. Except unlike the escort, Muir is awkwardly trying to cover up her stomach and pulling her long hair forward that has been given extra length for the outfit. "I'd say that Link managed to catch quite the mermaid!"

"Again, showing preference from those with red hair," Claudia shakes her head at him, but doesn't say much else. The District Four pair could use the Capitol liking them simply because Elliot likes them, considering the poor show they're putting on right now compared to the tributes from One and Two.

"I think _you_ have a preference for red hair since you keep mentioning it," Elliot teases and Claudia's smile falters for a second until she fixes it, knowing she can't let the country see her distaste for him. "But how about District Five? You could see those lights from a mile away! Some might even say that they're litty."

Claudia rolls her eyes at Elliot, not liking that Elliot seems to be trying to do her job. The pair from Five are well lit and it's not just the Capitol lights. The two wear black bodysuits covered in giant lightbulbs, flashing in various patterns. Virote has his head down, just holding onto the chariot and avoiding the stares of the crowd. But Keelin is the opposite of her District partner, waving and blowing kisses at people, determined to win them over. "You certainly can't look away from those two."

"Yes, but take a look at District Six. I don't think I can look away from those two either!"

"Neither can I," Claudia snickers at the District Six pair, unable to control herself. Their costume is just absurd. They both are dressed as race car drivers Claudia might see here in the Capitol for entertainment. But that's not the ridiculous part. No, that belongs to the foam cars attached to their waists, making it look as if they're the drivers in their own race cars. Carrie-Ann tries her best to look dignified in her outfit, staring straight ahead and keeping emotion off her face. Ryo tries to have fun with it, pretending like he's steering the chariot before laughing and starting to wave a bit at the crowd. "At least one of them is having some fun."

"If he wins, someone should take him to the race tracks!" Elliot jokes, laughing jovially at this statement, but Claudia doesn't find enjoyment from him. She just feels resentment and once again wishes he wasn't here.

"Well, I don't know about going to the racetracks, but how about to the forests of Seven in autumn?" Claudia points out the approaching chariot, quite enjoying the outfit the stylists have created this year. She's always wanted the opportunity to travel to Seven in autumn and imagines the appearance this year's tributes have match it well. Wearing shorts and tank tops covered in leaves of various colors, along with their skin dusted in gold, they have one of the better costumes so far. Well, at least compared to District Six.

But unlike District Six, these two aren't doing too well with the crowd compared to Ryo. Ander has his arms crossed stubbornly, glaring ahead of him with a great scowl on his face as the crowd's cheers lessen at them. Tanelai isn't much better, giving half-hearted waves as she stares around nervously. But Claudia can see the girl start breathing rapidly and she stops waving to grab onto the chariot. "Is she swaying from the chariot or is she about to pass out?"

"I hope it's the first option," Elliot comments as Tanelai stares down at the chariot as Ander glances over at her, showing a brief bit of concern before turning back to facing forward and scowling. But a few seconds pass and Tanelai doesn't seem to be fainting. Not that Claudia and Elliot would have been able to do much for her from up here in the studio. "Well, not all of us can handle being out in front of a big crowd like us."

Claudia briefly looks over at the announcer at him saying 'us', but Elliot ignores her, or doesn't think twice about it. So why should she? "I think she'll be fine," Claudia says as Tanelai leans against the front of the chariot, but stays conscious. Luckily, the next chariot is appearing to distract the crowd from the District Seven tributes. "Wow, what has made Luciana look so angry?"

"Not sure, but she doesn't have any reason to be angry about the outfit!" Elliot answers, pointing out the combination of various fabrics put together into what looks to Claudia like an outfit from a recent martial arts movie she saw. Iannis is proudly waving around a giant knitting needle before looking around at the ground while Luciana keeps glaring at the crowd. "He isn't seriously thinking about jumping out, is he?"

Claudia leans forward at this, trying to get a better look at the kid from Eight. No one would really be that stupid to try that, would they? The fall wouldn't kill them, but Head Gamemaker Salome would surely guarantee his death. But Iannis seems to come to his senses, returning to just waving around the giant knitting needle again. He accidentally hits Luciana in the back of the head with it and she rips it out of his hands, throwing it off the side of the chariot and yelling something at him that they can't hear. "Well, how about we take a look at District Nine instead?"

"Yes, let's do that," Elliot quickly agrees as the cameras pan to the District Nine chariot, showing the two dressed up as bakers, each holding a basket of bread on one arm and a rolling pin in the other. "Hopefully neither of them hits each other with the rolling pin!"

But that doesn't seem likely. Garth is doing his best to look cheerful about the crowd, but his waves falter when he glances over at Gwenith and sees her acting all excited. Claudia can tell the young girl's excitement is genuine as she waves at the crowd and looks around in wonder at the best the Capitol has to offer. "It's always great to see that kind of enthusiasm from the Outer Districts."

"She might be young, but maybe we shouldn't count out Gwenith just yet!" Elliot adds, nodding his head at this. "And of course, Garth looks like a strong man too. Attractive man too. I bet he has lots of people attracted to him back in Nine. He could give Fonio a run for his money as District Nine's hottest victor. But that is, of course, if he wins and dooms two valid boys in the future. So we shouldn't count him out either."

"Of course, we're not counting out anyone," Claudia says, but purses her lips at this. Well, there might be a few that are counted out for reasons that have been established about the victors in the future. But she can't see the future to know who those tributes are. If only she could see the future and predict who wins games. She'd definitely like to know who wins the next two Quarter Quells. "If only we could know who wins, but we don't have that kind of information."

"Nope," Elliot shakes his head, staring into the camera. "In fact, I bet no one even knows who will win these Games right now." Elliot gives a shrug at this before getting back to his job of announcing things, but sadly not announcing who wins certain Games. "Well here comes District Ten and oh, how disappointing to see a sub-par costume."

Claudia tsks at the stylist's choice and shakes her head, for once agreeing with Elliot. "A cowboy and cowgirl? Certainly not the most creative, but better than being a cow."

"Or covered in raw meat."

Claudia turns towards Elliot at this, giving him a disgusted look. "Who would ever think that's a good idea?"

Elliot shrugs at her, "I don't know, maybe some future stylist years from now will think it's a good idea. Maybe in like, thirty six years?"

"That's disgusting," Claudia shakes her head, feeling her stomach turn a little at just the thought of wearing raw meat. She'll gladly take tributes dressed as cowboys and cowgirls over that any day. At least Jinx is a cute cowgirl, her hair pulled into tiny pigtails and big floppy hat on her head that she has to keep holding down as she looks all around, seemingly giggling as she does so. And Beau is also a good cowboy, looking like a charming southern boy as he waves at the crowd, smiling as he leans over, saying something to Jinx. She smiles at him, still giggling before starting to wave as well at the crowd. "It looks like those two are having fun."

"Oh definitely. One can only hope they keep having fun," Elliot nods his head solemnly at this. "It would be a shame if they turned out to not be the nice, sweet kids they look like right now."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure they're sweet," Claudia retorts, shaking her head at him. "And I'm sure that Jinx has a very good reason for why she volunteered. Maybe she has a dead sibling she wants to avenge."

"Or maybe she volunteered because she's an angry girl mourning the death of her only friend from the year before."

"I mean, I guess that's an option," Claudia shrugs her shoulders as the final chariot comes into views. "Now let's see what our final tributes have to offer. Hopefully District Eleven can get another victor so poor Garia doesn't have to keep mentoring alone for another, hmm, I don't know…seventeen years?"

"That's a very specific number," Elliot states the obvious, but Claudia doesn't have a response. She just picked that number and doesn't know why. "Well, at least their outfits are good. Hopefully no one gets scared."

Claudia rolls her eyes at this terrible pun – seriously, who makes jokes like that? It's weird. The District Eleven pair is dressed up like the scarecrows used in their fields to deter birds, but they're not deterring the crowd from paying attention, even though they're the last District. Addae stares around at the crowd in awe but quickly looks next to him when he sees Maddelena breathing very quickly as her eyes dart rapidly around the crowd. "Oh no, I think we might have someone who actually passes out."

Maddelena covers her ears from the crowd, crouching down into the chariot and trying to hide from them all. Addae hesitates for a moment before crouching down next to her to see that she's alright. "Well that's very brave of him," Elliot says softly, his joking gone as he watches the young girl panic from the crowd.

"Yes it is," Claudia answers, watching as Addae straightens up, staring out at the crowd in a much more subdued manner. Claudia isn't sure what to keep saying after that.

"Maybe she got scared by her own costume," Elliot offers and Claudia shakes her head once more at him. At this rate, she's going to need to get a neck brace from how often he makes her shake her head at him in annoyance.

But luckily the chariots don't have much longer to go until they're all gathered in the City Circle, meaning she's almost done putting up with Elliot for tonight. "Well, it is time for us to hear another exciting speech from our President as he starts another Hunger Games."

Claudia and Elliot sit in silence as the cameras shut off on them and turn to the President as he steps out to give the same speech he gives every year. Seriously, someone should fire his speech writer and get him a new one. Elliot turns over to Claudia and she glances over at him, scowl on her face as she tries to figure out why he's looking over at her. "You know, every time you scowl at me, I think you add another wrinkle to your forehead."

"I do not!" Claudia says in a loud whisper, turning to stare at him with eyes wide in anger. Yet he just chuckles at her response and turns back to watch the President as he wraps up his speech. Claudia adjusts her bangs, pulling them more in front of her forehead, just in case Elliot is right… The light on the cameras turn red again, indicating they're live once more, and Claudia puts a smile back on instantly. "Well everyone, that concludes the chariot rides for the 113th Hunger Games! I'm sure these tributes are all going to continue to surprise us and cause a downright crazy Games!"

* * *

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

Pyrite is filled with exhilaration as the chariot pulls to a stop inside the training center. It's a familiar feeling, reminding them of taking the final bow after a performance with their theater group. Their cheeks hurt from grinning and their ears are ringing from the cheers, but they don't care. Why were they nervous about that?

That was the best performance they've ever experienced.

"That was amazing!" they say loudly to Pride, getting a matching grin from him. It would be hard not to get caught up in the cheers for them.

"It really was," Pride says as he jumps down from the chariot, Pyrite close behind him. "So now what do we do? Like do we-"

"Hey Pyrite!"

The pair glance over to see who interrupted Pride and find Stark staring over at them, hand propped on his hip and smirk on his face. "Come over."

Pyrite glances back at Pride, seeing the disappointment on his face when he realizes that Stark only called for Pyrite, not him. "Stick with me," Pyrite whispers to him, even reaching out to grab his arm when it looks like he's about to turn away. "Like I said, I'm not breaking that promise. He'll just have to accept that."

"It doesn't look like he will," Pride hesitantly responds but still follows Pyrite over as Ampora calls over to Muir, again trying to bring only over the tribute that volunteered.

Just like Pyrite with Pride, Muir hesitantly glances over at her partner Lincoln as he falls out of the chariot. Despite her cringe on her face, she still helps him up and leads him over. Muir stares over at Pyrite as she covers her stomach, the poor girl placed in the kind of costume that Pyrite feared. But an understanding passes between them and Pyrite nods her head in greeting to the girl from Four, getting one in return.

Pyrite might have another ally they can trust in the alliance.

But the pair from Two look very unhappy by this exchange. Stark's smirk has disappeared, replaced by a scowl. "We only invited over Pyrite and Muir. Not these two."

Pyrite and Muir share a look at this before Muir gives a small shrug and looks at her District partner. "Link is trained."

Link nods his head at this, pulling back his eye patch to reveal a wooden eye surrounded by a scar that he pops out to start cleaning on his shirt. "My brother is a trainer. How do you think I got this scar?"

"Dude that's gross," Ampora shakes her head in disgust as Link glances up at her with one eye, not breaking eye contact when he places the wooden eye back in the socket.

Pyrite notices Stark staring over at Pride and gives him a nudge with their elbow, aware that he's being tested right now to see if he's good enough for the alliance. "Wha-" Pride starts before Pyrite subtly nods their head towards Stark. "Oh, um, I've also had training, just not extensive enough to be picked to volunteer. And my sister is a victor."

"Yeah, a victor who was Reaped," Stark states the obvious that Pyrite didn't want to bring up. "In another year when One failed to have two volunteers."

"Yeah but she still won," Pride says proudly, taking a step closer to the boy from Two and meeting his gaze. "Can't say the same will happen with you."

Ampora scoffs at this while Stark is just silently fuming. Pyrite is pleased to see Pride sticking up for himself, but they're a little worried about Stark's narrowing eyes. "You really think you're going to beat me? That's cute." Stark turns his attention over to Link before looking at Pyrite and Muir. "We'll see tomorrow if you two have as much training as you claim. If we're not impressed," Stark pauses to give a shrug at this while Ampora looks all smug. "Well, I guess they can be allies together."

Stark walks away at this, not waiting for an answer and showing the others that he's taken charge of the career pack this year. Ampora stares at them for a few seconds, "I'll try not to be too disappointed." She quickly walks after Stark, leaving the pairs from One and Four behind in an awkward silence.

"What a bitch," Muir mutters under her breath, making Pyrite get the faintest smile before losing it when they see the nervousness all over Pride's face. Muir sighs before holding out her hand to Pyrite. "We're off to a great start this year. I'm Muir."

"Pyrite," they answer and firmly shake her hand. They chuckle nervously as Muir shakes Pride's hand and Link gives them a halfhearted wave.

"So…" Pride says nervously, everyone glancing around as they stand in an awkward silence. "What do we do?"

Muir doesn't seem to have an answer to this and she starts picking at her blue nail polish instead of making eye contact with them. It's clear she has no desire to stand up to Stark and Ampora about Pride and Link. Pyrite isn't too sure they want that either…they'd rather not start the Games with a conflict between themself and the District Two pair.

But…they did make a promise.

"We show off Pride and Link's skills tomorrow," they finally say, getting Muir's attention once more. She raises an eyebrow in surprise at this but doesn't speak up, so Pyrite keeps talking to fill the awkward silence. "I think it's a bad decision to not keep up our numbers."

"Maybe District Two sent in dumb tributes this year," Muir says, making Pyrite smile just a little at her.

"Maybe they did," Pyrite echoes and Muir smiles at them, still clearly nervous about the conversation. But Pyrite feels comfortable with her, at least more than they did with Stark and Ampora. "But One didn't send in dumb tributes and it doesn't seem like Four did the same."

Muir shares a look with Link before answering Pyrite. "Well, the guy who was supposed to volunteer was dumb enough to stay up all night and fall asleep in line."

"So that's why he didn't volunteer?" Pride asks curiously, staring over at Link who nods his head in confirmation. "Wow, I'm sorry, that sucks."

"Tell me about it," Link scoffs and it turns into a chuckle, before he lets out a heavy sigh. "It's just the latest thing in me being the unluckiest person in the universe."

The group falls quiet again, everyone looking around at each other and not knowing what to say. It's hard to talk to these people and be friendly when Pyrite knows they'll all have to die if they are to make it out alive.

Muir is surprisingly the first one to speak up, letting out a sigh first and glancing down at her outfit. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs, if you don't mind. I really don't want to be standing around half naked for any longer than necessary."

"I understand," Pyrite says quietly, nodding their head at Muir. "Well…I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Muir says back, giving Pyrite a brief smile before heading off in the same direction Stark and Ampora went before. Link gives the two a nod of his head before turning to follow after Muir, stumbling over his feet but catching himself before he falls.

Pyrite waits until the pair from Four have walked far enough to be out of hearing before letting out a sigh and shaking their head. They hope they didn't make a bad decision by wanting Pride to be part of the alliance when Stark and Ampora clearly don't. And how unfair that they can just claim leadership, just because they have two volunteers this year? A terrible pit is slowly forming in their stomach at that conversation. They don't know if they made the smartest decision, but it's certainly what they think is the right decision. And that's what matters to them.

"Well that was awkward," Pride finally says, bringing Pyrite's gaze towards him. "Pyrite… I don't think they're going to let me be in the alliance."

Pyrite frowns at this, but knows Pride is probably right. They could tell from that short conversation that Stark never wanted to have Pride and Link in his alliance. "I don't think so either but I'll try to convince them otherwise."

Pride stares at them for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. "You're a good person, Pyrite. I hope it doesn't get you killed."

Pyrite turns away at this, feeling their stomach twist at the thought of dying. They'd rather keep ignoring this possibility, so they glance around at the other tributes still in the area, unsurprisingly finding a couple looking over at them. Who among them might make a good ally for Pride? Sure, he'll have Link, but Pyrite promised to help find allies for Pride if he doesn't end up with the careers.

But none of them are trained.

Pyrite lets out a loud sigh, their good mood from the chariot rides all but disappeared after talking to the other careers. They can speculate all they want tonight but they won't know who is a threat until they see them training tomorrow. "Come on, we can worry about alliances tomorrow."

* * *

 **Alrighty we're finally starting the fun stuff in the Capitol! I always love these chapters so I'm excited to keep working on them and see the tributes interacting!**

 **What did you think of the chariot costumes? What was your favorite? Which one was the worst? Any predictions on alliances?**

 **RQ #13:** What's the best movie you've watched lately?

 **Okay next up we're going to check in with Beta and Muir for the first day of training! See you soon!**


	19. Training Day 1: Right or Wrong

**Chapter 16:**

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

Beta doesn't think he'll ever get used to seeing the world crystal clear. He hadn't realized before just how bad his vision was starting to get until Frisk had noticed his squinting and insisted that the Capitol provides him with glasses. It's…odd to no longer have to squint to read things. It still amazes him the details he was missing before. At least now he'll be able to see things better when he finds the spell books in the Capitol because surely they must have them in training today.

Beta has been looking forward to their two days of training. Not to learn any weapon skills or find allies, but for the trove of knowledge being offered to him. And to hopefully find some better herbs than what was available to him on the train. He couldn't complete the curse he wanted to on the tributes with the limited resources, but today is a new day. And he can find which tributes he needs to curse more to make sure he makes it home to Tracer so they can finally succeed in bringing Copper back.

As he stands off to the side, waiting for the day to start, he slowly scans over the tributes waiting with him, most of them standing separate from others. The careers, all tentatively standing together, are the obvious choice for who to keep cursing. But as he stares at them, he slowly smiles a little before looking away. Looks like he was successful in making at least one of them cursed with vomiting. The other tributes have yet to provide a reason to curse them aside from them needing to die for Beta to return home. Some stand awkwardly with their District partners while others stand alone. The pair from Ten quietly talks with the girl giggling occasionally and just slowly driving Beta crazy from the noise. One of the younger boys, only two years younger than Beta, catches his gaze and gives him a short wave and a smile that Beta tentatively returns, a little confused by the action. Another tribute meets his gaze, the older boy from Eleven, and Beta returns the cold stare, tilting his head a little in confusion towards him. Something about him just doesn't sit right with him, yet he can't figure out what…

A whistle is blown and Beta slowly takes his gaze away from the boy from Eleven and over to the trainer approaching them. They wait patiently, taking the time to make sure they have the attention of every tribute before starting to talk. "Welcome, tributes. The next two days are completely yours to learn whatever skills you think are necessary to increase your odds of victory. As someone that has been here for over ten years, I highly recommend that you do not neglect the survival skills. While it is important to know how to use a sword to kill, it means nothing if you don't know how to find food or build a shelter to keep yourself warm. You are not to fight with any other tribute, that is what the trainers are for," they pause to let out a sigh and carefully look at all of them again, Jinx letting out a nervous giggle in the silence. "Please don't make me have to remove one of you for the day because you fight another tribute. Other than that, please don't hesitate to ask the trainers for help, that is what they're here-"

They're cut off by a retching sound and the girl from Four screams and jumps back just in time to avoid being vomited on by her District partner. A few other tributes let out screams of disgust as the boy keeps empting the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Beta stares at the boy, unflinching from the disgusting action. Why would he flinch away when it was his curse that caused it?

The head trainer simply sighs and motions for some people to come over to clean up the mess. "Just go ahead and get started."

The first to head towards the station is the tall career from Two and Beta stares after him with wide eyes, thinking back to the descriptions he's read with Tracer about vampires. The career sure does look like one and Beta wants to ask, but not with how angry he looks about the boy from Four vomiting.

Beta waits until the giggling girl has started to practically skip after the career towards the weapons, not wanting to be anywhere close to her, before starting to slowly wander among the stations, staring with wide eyes at the stations full of knowledge. There's even a swimming pool – which he's staying far away from as he'd like to avoid drowning before the Games even start. The sheer amount of training stations there is a bit overwhelming to him so when he spots a station full of items that he is familiar with, he's drawn towards it right away.

Beta plops down in front of as many plants as he would see in his father's apothecary shop, maybe even more, and his hands automatically start reaching towards those that he's familiar with. Plants that he could use to help him curse the other tributes that even think about killing him.

"Hello there," the trainer says to him, bringing his attention up from the plants to stare at them with wide eyes. "Do you need any help?"

"Not with the plants," Beta says as he starts picking up a few different items that he'll need to curse people with hives. Now he just needs to find a way to take them with him for later, unless they have all the materials needed here… "My father owns an apothecary shop in District Three and I've spent many hours in there learning how to use the different herbs to cast spells and curses on people, all so I can…" Beta trails off as he glances back at the trainer, pushing up his new glasses as they've slid down his nose. The trainer is trying their best to keep a friendly smile on their face as Beta stares at them with wide eyes full of the possibilities in front of him. How did he not think of it sooner? He's in the Capitol, the place teeming with resources and knowledge… Surely someone must know the solution he's sought after for years.

"Do you know where I can find some spell books to bring back the dead?"

The trainer simply stares back at Beta for a few seconds, their own eyes wide at the question. Until they let out a scoff at this and shake their head. "Kid, why don't you focus on keeping yourself alive instead of focusing on those that are long gone?"

"They are right."

Beta unclenches his fists full of plants as he turns his gaze to the person standing over him, distracting him from his building rage at the trainer, making him cool in an instant. The boy from Eleven sits down next to him, still staring at him with that same cold gaze from earlier. Beta doesn't flinch away from his gaze as they stare at each other in silence as the seconds tick by, completely perplexed by the aura coming off of this person.

"I was curious about you since watching the Reapings," the boy starts, glancing at the assortment of plants sorted in front of Beta before bringing his gaze back up. Beta blinks a couple times in surprise, still unsure what this boy wants from him… His face is still a cool mask, hiding his intentions with Beta and leaving him completely unsure what to even say. "I couldn't quite figure you out though and that was concerning to me."

Beta squints at him, a habit from before receiving his glasses. "Why am I concerning?" He asks as he continues to stare at Addae.

The boy picks up one of the plants before answering Beta, "Because I can sense the supernatural in you and can't figure out yet if I should be worried." He sticks out his hand to Beta, watching him carefully to see what he does. "Addae."

"Beta," he sticks out his hand to shake Addae's in return, starting to smile at him. Who would have thought he would find someone similar to him in the Games and who would want to be his ally? This is good, he could use someone that can help him with his spells. Someone who if they die, it won't destroy Beta to lose them. And maybe Addae is the missing link in why Beta hasn't been able to bring Copper back yet. Maybe he needs a sacrifice of someone that is also involved in magic.

Addae grabs Beta's hand but instead of shaking it, he flips it over so he can stare down at the palm. Beta also looks down at his hand, seeing the faded raised white scars from some of his spells in the past. Addae throws Beta's hand away from him and scrambles to stand up, clutching the necklace he wears as he stares down at Beta. Addae shakes his head as Beta stares up in confusion before standing up himself to meet Addae's gaze. "Stay away from me. You are a cursed child. I knew there was someone here cursing the Games!"

"I am not cursed! I'm trying to bring back Copper!" A brief flicker of hurt passes through Beta at Addae's words, having thought that Addae wanted to be his ally for a moment. But the hurt quickly turns to rage as he takes a step closer to Addae, barely noticing from his peripheral view the trainer stepping towards them. "Yes, I am cursing people," Beta clenches his fists tightly as he narrows his eyes up at Addae, starting to think through the worst possible curses he could put on him. "I already cursed that boy from Four to throw up today and I'm going to make sure each and every tribute knows that if they try to kill me, they're going to be cursed so badly they'll wish they were dead already. And I'm going to make sure that you are cursed before even entering the arena. I am not cursed!" Beta's voice had been at an icy whisper, but raises at the end, making a few of the nearby tributes stop talking and look over at the two.

But Beta doesn't notice them. All he can notice is the cold gaze of Addae as he starts mumbling under his breath while still clutching his necklace. Beta doesn't blink as he continues to stare at the boy, mentally going through the list of the worst possible curse he could give to Addae. "I'm going to curse you and your entire family."

Addae tenses up at this and Beta slowly starts to grin at him, knowing he found the one thing that will get to Addae. "You will not!" He answers, deep voice raising and echoing across the training room and bringing more gazes to them.

"Okay you two, back away from each other," the trainer finally steps between the two of them. They put their arms out, not quite pushing Beta and Addae away from each other but threatening to if need be. "You heard the rules, no fighting until the arena."

"I'll curse them all!" Beta yells at Addae as the boy from Eleven starts to take steps away from him, eyes narrowed at him. Beta starts to take steps back as well, mind already working through the necessary steps to curse Addae's whole family. He'll regret ever threatening Beta. "And it will be all your fault!"

"I will stop your curses!" Addae shouts as Beta turns around, stalking off towards the weapon stations and ignoring the way the boys from One and Four stare at him with wide eyes as he storms over to the knives. The giggling girl from Ten is still there, waving around a knife and making the trainer put all of his attention on her to make sure she doesn't injure someone as she goes to throw one at a target.

Her incessant giggling makes Beta cover his ears, trying to block out the sound from driving him insane. But even with his hands covered, he can still hear her laughter and he has to remove one of his hands to grab a knife while the trainer isn't looking at him. He quickly tucks it into his pants pocket, along with some of the plants his stole from the station, and covers up his ear as the grating sound of her laughter still gets through to him. "Stop laughing!"

The girl responds with a nervous laugh, glancing down at the knife in her hands before bringing her gaze back up to Beta. "Why should I stop?"

Beta groans as he shakes his head, still hearing that ear piercing giggling. The sound just echoes in his head and he can't get it to stop, no matter what he tries. "Get out of my head!"

Her giggling only gets worse at this and Beta shuts his eyes tightly as he tries to block out everything about her. He takes blind steps back, shaking his head at her, but it doesn't work. _She's still there._ "I'm not in your head!" She giggles – _God, that giggling, why_ – and Beta stumbles into a display as he tries to get away from her, sending a rack of tridents toppling to the ground. "But I can be!"

"Oi, stop it!" The trainer yells and Beta opens his eyes wide to find the girl approaching him, knife in her hand that the trainer quickly snatches away from her, making her start giggling nervously. "You were already warned, Jinx, but one more instance of threatening another tribute and you'll be kicked out of training!"

Beta scrambles to find purchase on the smooth ground to start running away from her, hoping putting distance between them will get her out of his head. He starts running towards the corner of the training room, away from all the stations and other tributes. He just has to get away from all the noise of the other tributes, but especially Jinx, as it's just too much. He can't focus on cursing the other tributes. Yet she's still in his head!

Beta lets out a groan of frustration at the giggling still echoing in his head as he reaches the corner of the room and slides down, keeping his hands over his ears as he stares at the ground in front of him. _Focus, Beta, focus. You know how to keep people out of your head._ But he just can't focus his thoughts on the meticulous lists he has in his head over spells and potions to provide protection over him. He wraps his arms around his knees, bringing them closer to his chest and digging his nails into his palms, hoping the pain with bring his focus back so he can get Jinx out of his head.

Why is he here? Why did he have to get Reaped? He should be back home in Three with Tracer, planning out their next try at bringing Copper back… The thought of his best friend brings a sudden calm through him and he freezes, realizing he had been rocking back and forth. Slowly, he opens his palms, finding red crescent marks from where his nails had dug in to the skin littered with scars. How could he lose focus on who he has to win for? He has to win for Tracer. He can't leave them all alone in Three after everything they went through… They'll have no one left without him… _He can't leave them alone._

With the image of their best friend in his head, a sense of calm spreads over him, surely the result of some sort of protection spell that they have cast for him. He can do this. He can focus on getting home to them. And that means cursing Addae and Jinx.

Beta slowly gathers the plants out of his pocket, carefully removing the knife so he doesn't injure himself before necessary. It's not as much as he would have liked to have, but he can't go back over there yet. It will only draw suspicion to him. No, he can make do with the supplies he has. Besides, these curses are more reliant on the symbols he needs to carve into his skin.

Before starting, Beta takes a moment to glance around at the training room, making sure that Jinx and Addae are far away from him. Jinx has moved away from the weapons stations, but she still is looking over at him and gives a wave at him, smile on her face and surely letting out another one of those ear piercing giggles. Beta clenches his fists once more, shaking his head and focusing on the image of his friend to keep Jinx out. Addae has gone to one of the other survival stations, too far away for Beta to see what, but the boy from Eleven sits facing Beta, seemingly determined to keep his attention on him. The girl from Five sits with him, chatting away as Addae seemingly ignores her to focus on the task in front of him. Most of the tributes are at the survival stations, too scared to try out the weapons yet.

He scans over the other tributes, trying to figure out if there are any others that he needs to curse now. The careers are an obvious choice, but drama seems to be present among the them, no doubt a result of their lack of six volunteers. The pair from Two work at different weapons but keep watching the Reaped careers. Beta really wants to talk to the boy from Two to see if he really is a vampire as he'd love to get bitten by a hot vampire, but survival and cursing the tributes around him is a higher priority. The pair from One work together at the axe station, the trained one helping the other. Both tributes from Seven are also there, keeping their distance from the careers as they desperately try to learn how to use their District's trade for survival.

Before Beta can keep looking around at the rest, he sees a pair walking over to him and he turns his gaze towards them, blinking a few times in confusion that someone actually followed him over here. The boy looks barely younger than him and he's smiling pleasantly at Beta as he leads over a very nervous looking girl, one of the youngest ones in the Games. He almost looks around him, verifying that no one else is around him and that these two really seem like they're heading towards him.

The boy stops in front of him, the girl hovering nervously behind him, but still looking curiously at Beta. The boy smiles down at Beta, making him realize that he still holds the knife in one hand and plants in the other. He can see the boy nervously glance down at them, yet he continues to smile at him. "Hi there! I uh, saw you run away from the stations and, well, I understand that fear and wanting to run away and pretend that this isn't happening. And I saw you at the plant identification station and you looked like you really know what you're doing and Dampero said I should find someone that knows what they're doing with plants. So…are you alright? And can we sit with you?"

Beta blinks at them a few times as he unclenches his fists, surprised that someone wanted to come talk to him and see if he is alright. He slowly nods his head before setting down the plants and knife next to him, still staring at the two in surprise. "I don't like those two and needed to get away from them."

"Who?" The boy asks as they sit down across from Beta, twisting around to look around at the others. "Oh Addae and Jinx? Yeah they're kind of weird. Addae just has that intimidating stare and the giggling is just creeping me out." He chuckles a little as he turns back around, before his face lights up a bit as he looks at Beta. "Oh we never introduced ourselves! I'm Ryo and this is Gwenith.

"Beta," he answers softly, not knowing what to say to these two that are acting so friendly towards him, but Ryo's smile has diffused all the anger in him.

"Well nice to meet you, Beta," Ryo holds out his hand to Beta, who hesitates after what happened with Addae…but he slowly reaches out and Ryo shakes his hand enthusiastically, without making any attempt to look at Beta's palms or accuse him of being evil. "So, what are you doing over here with that stuff?" Ryo asks, nodding his head at the plants and knife sitting next to Beta.

"I'm working on casting a spell that will curse any tributes that try to harm me."

The two are stunned into silence at this and Beta stares at them, waiting for their response. Ryo lets out a low whistle at this, but doesn't seem like he's going to react as negatively as Addae did. Surprisingly, the nervous girl is the first one to speak up. "You can cast spells?"

"Of course," Beta answers as he nods his head sagely. He points at his head as he looks over at Gwenith, the young girl's eyes wide with wonder. "I have many spells and potions memorized from years of perfecting them."

"Wow, I didn't expect to find an ally that can cast spells!" Ryo pauses though, his smile faltering a little as he nervously looks over at Beta. "I mean…that is, of course…if you would maybe, possibly consider being allies with us?"

"And you can teach us how to cast spells!" Gwenith adds quickly, her naïve face full of wonder at what Beta is capable of.

Their offer to be allies leaves Beta staring at them in shock for a few seconds, not having expected anyone to be so forward. He was hoping to have allies for the arena, but he wasn't going to go around asking anyone. Not like the boy from Six did. And they want to learn his spells? No one aside from Tracer has ever wanted to be part of that with him…

"If you're willing to learn, I can teach you what I know," Beta finally responds to them, growing excited at the thought of having not just one, but two people working with him. And he didn't even have to try himself to make allies, something that probably wouldn't have ended up happening… But it doesn't matter now. He has two allies ready to help him. "But first we will need to get some more supplies."

* * *

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

Muir is already exhausted by all the socializing in training and she's barely made it through half a day. She knew these days would be a struggle, but she had expected to have Soren with her to handle talking to the other careers… She certainly didn't expect the exhausting task of watching Link and Pride struggle to prove they deserve to be in the alliance.

She didn't want to just give up on Link, but the boy wasn't really doing much to prove to Stark and Ampora that he's capable. But, most tributes wouldn't be impressed by someone throwing up out of nerves at the start of the day. Sure, Muir felt similar, but she hadn't actually thrown up… And then there's the issue of the bump on his forehead that is continuing to grow from him slipping at the edge of the pool and hitting his head. She had never met someone so accident prone in her life.

Pride wasn't much better, but at least he could pick up weapons without being afraid of injuring himself. And Pyrite was doing their best to help him out while working on touching up their own skills. Which had left Muir to wander around between stations, avoiding the pair from Two and trying to figure out what can calm her nerves about being here. She hadn't expected to feel nervous about the training days, yet her stomach has been a knotted mess since she came downstairs this morning. Even the food she's piling onto her tray now seems unappealing, though she doubts the Capitol is serving anything but the best. Just everything about this situation hasn't felt right to her…

Muir lets out a small sigh as she reaches the end of the buffet line and turns to face the tables set up for them. Link is already sitting at a table, holding an ice pack to his head as he looks over at them, appearing absolutely dismal about this whole situation. Most of the others aren't sitting yet, having waited to get in line after the careers did to keep their distance. Pyrite is right behind Muir, holding two trays in their hands as they smile at Muir. "Come on, let's go sit with the poor unlucky guy. You too, Pride."

Muir gives a small smile back before following them over to the table. Link glances up at them as they approach, giving Pyrite a small thankful smile as they slide the tray in front of him before sitting across from him. "Thank you. Although I'm not sure how much of an appetite I have…"

"It will get worse if you don't eat," Pyrite responds before taking a big bite of their chicken. Muir sits down next to Pyrite and starts poking at her food while Pride takes the seat across from her. "At least try to eat a roll first. I even got you the one from Four."

"Thank you," Link mutters softly before picking up the roll and taking a tiny bite. He's about to speak again when the tributes from Two sit next to Pyrite and Link.

"So thoughts on the others so far?" Stark asks, looking only at Pyrite and Muir. "We need to consider options for the alliance."

Muir awkwardly glances over at Link at this, both of them recognizing the meaning of Stark's words. But he had said they have until the end of the day… Instead of dealing with that awkwardness now, Muir focuses instead on discussing the other tributes. While her wandering hadn't been great for practicing stuff, it had given her an opportunity to figure out who might be threats, aside from the ones sitting with her. "Well there's the three volunteers."

"I don't think we need to be concerned about the girl from Three," Ampora speaks up, nodding her head in the direction of the timid girl. Digit sits alone at a table, but the boy from Ten is standing there, seemingly asking if he can join her. "She hasn't touched the weapons at all and it doesn't look like she wants to."

"Please, she does not look like a threat at all," Stark scoffs at the girl, not even bothering to look over at her. "Same with the girl from Ten."

"But her giggling is kind of creepy," Pride mentions, making Stark look over at him with an expression of disgust before turning back to Pyrite and Muir.

The rest of them all look around to find Jinx talking to Maddie, the shy girl from Eleven that has successfully avoided everyone else all morning. Jinx starts giggling as Maddie runs away from her, looking nearly on the verge of tears, but the girl from Ten seems unaware as she waves after her. "Nice talking to you!" She calls after Maddie before nervously looking around, giggling at the careers staring at her, before going over to where her District partner sits and joining him.

"She's insane," Ampora mutters, shaking her head as she takes a bite of food. Muir tries to do the same, but just struggles to find her appetite. "Why else would a thirteen year old from Ten of all places volunteer?"

"Who can say?" Pyrite responds, their tone barely showing their displeasure at Ampora calling Jinx insane. "And Addae is not going to want to ally with us."

Muir nods her head in agreement at this and Stark looks at her expectantly, waiting to hear what she has to say. "Yeah," she says softly before clearing her throat and speaking up, refusing to let this jerk from Two think that she's intimidated by him. "I went to a station he was at earlier and he promptly stood up and left as soon as I sat down."

"Well he can die in the bloodbath then," Stark says with a smirk, leaning back in his chair as he looks around the room. "Can't say I'm very impressed by the other older tributes. The girl from Eight looks like she wants to punch us right now, the girl from Seven hasn't shown much skill, even though she's at least trying with an axe, and the girl from Five has spent the morning trying to flirt with us, yet showed no talent. And the boy from Nine just looks pitiful." Stark lets out a dramatic sigh before taking a long sip of his water. "I suppose it will just be the four of us."

"Four?" Pyrite squeaks out and Muir finds herself staring at Stark with wide eyes, before scrunching her eyebrows at his statement. Four? That means…

"Yes, four," Stark says casually as he picks up his apple and inspects it for a moment, before shining it on his shirt. "These two have yet to show me that they have what it takes to be in this alliance and I'm not hopeful. Maybe if they don't get killed in the bloodbath and prove themselves capable, I'll reconsider. But for now," he simply shrugs at them before standing up and taking a bite of his apple, taking his time to chew before continuing, "They're out."

Stark stalks off, still eating his apple and leaving behind an even worse feeling in Muir's gut. She was trying with Link, at least, she thought she was. But that dick from Two didn't even give Pride and Link the chance to make it to the end of the day…

"What an ass," Ampora mutters under her breath, continuing to eat away and not seeming as bothered as Muir and Pyrite about Stark's statement. And really, she shouldn't be so concerned about Link… Yet she made a promise that she plans to keep, just hopefully without breaking the others she made to her parents… "God, I can't wait to kill him in the arena. I don't know how he managed to get picked by Two. Whatever, he's not going to be Two's victor this year." Ampora gives a slightly apologetic smile to Pride and Link, but Muir can tell how fake it is. "Good luck in there. I'm getting back to training because no way am I letting Stark train longer than me."

Muir watches the girl from Two walk back towards the stations before pushing away her tray, her appetite completely gone. Her mother would be so disappointed in her right now if she knew how she just didn't say anything. And her father…he's always stood up for what's right, but clearly Muir didn't get those genes.

"Muir…" Link says quietly, sighing as he takes out his wooden eye and starts cleaning it. Muir is finally starting to not get grossed out by it, but she can hear someone behind her let out a squeal of disgust. "Don't worry about me. I'm basically doomed anyways so just focus on winning for Four."

He's right…she should be focused on herself and winning. She has her father to get home to. She has so many memories to make with him. And yet, she's been worried about herself the whole time. "Excuse me," Muir says quietly as she uses her napkin to wipe at her mouth, not that she really ate much. "I'm going to get back to training."

Pyrite looks up at Muir, silently seeing if she would like them to go with her, but she just shakes her head. As she walks away, she can hear Pyrite talk to the two boys, "Don't worry, we'll find you allies."

 _We._ Why is Pyrite so adamant about working with Muir? Shouldn't they be focused on themself? But…it's so reassuring to Muir to have someone else seemingly just as conflicted in this situation as she is. She just hopes that by time she reaches the arena, all her doubts are gone and she can focus on the task at hand.

Muir knows she should practice with some weapons, but she just desperately needs to clear her mind. And there's only one station that will help her with that.

The pool in the training center is an impressive thing, but it can't quite compare to the ocean. Still, there hasn't been a time when swimming hasn't comforted Muir and she could certainly use that right now. She quickly heads into the locker room and changes out of the drab blue workout clothes they gave her and into a wetsuit, still with the number four on the back.

As she approaches the edge of the pool, just the sight of the water is already soothing to her, so she quickly dives in, starting to swim laps along the length of it. She focuses on her actions, anything to keep from thinking about what she should do. _Left arm, right arm, breath. Left arm, right arm, breath. Keep kicking forward._ Her lungs start to burn, yet she keeps swimming, forcing herself to keep propelling herself forward.

After who knows how long, her legs finally start screaming at her to stop, so she flips onto her back and starts floating, slowly drifting around as she stares up at the ceiling. How did she not realize how confused and conflicted she would feel about the Games? It was supposed to be so simple…ally with the careers, stick with them until around the halfway point, then split off with Soren until they reached the end and then fight for victory. Sure, she would have been so annoyed by him, but it would have been straightforward and with none of the doubts she currently has.

 _Mom, what am I supposed to do?_

Muir can feel her eyes prickling with tears as she stares up at the ceiling, so badly wishing she could talk to her mom right now. She had always been so supportive and helped her figure out what was right or wrong. No wonder she's so conflicted about Link and Pride, given how her mother raised her and with a Peacekeeper father. She just hopes this sudden streak of wanting to do what's right doesn't bite her in the ass…

She really should just stand up to Stark. He's an ass anyways and exactly the type of people in training she always despised. She could have run the pack this year if she would have just had some damn confidence like her mentor. But she's not Okeanas. She's never been abrasive like her, no matter how much her mom wanted her to be brave and confident like the victor.

But she doesn't want to be like Okeanas. She wants to be herself, not a person who is quick to dismiss others because they're weaker than her. She doesn't want to just follow along with someone, afraid to stand up to them for fear of how they react. She wants to do what's right…but she's so terrified of getting targeted because she decides to stand up for herself.

She wants to be brave and unafraid of what others will think of her… She had thought she was that way, but facing the other careers today, she felt like she was back to being twelve again and facing the older trainees, terrified and wanting to prove to them she's capable.

Muir hadn't expected to grow attached to Link, even if his terrible bad luck drives her crazy. It's not like he's done anything to deserve it, he just happens to draw it to him. Hell, she even likes Pride…he seems like a nice guy and someone that also doesn't deserve to be here because of mistakes from the trainers in his District. It's so _stupid_ for her to care about them. They have to die if she wants to get back home alive. She has to get back home. Losing simply isn't an option for her…

She lets out a sigh when she realizes the problem. She wants to be like her father…unafraid to do what's right and stand up to others. Or…at least just make him proud of her. And yet, she's nowhere close to being like him.

"I thought you weren't supposed to swim after eating."

Muir ducks her head under the water, quickly washing away any hints of tears on her face from thinking about her parents. Even if she gets along with Pyrite, she does not want the tribute from One seeing her with tears. When she emerges, she finds her ally grinning at Muir and sitting near the edge of the pool. "That's a big myth." Muir chuckles a little as she starts swimming towards the edge and where Pyrite sits. "Now I wouldn't suggest eating a giant meal and then expect to swim 50 laps without a bit of discomfort."

"So it's like any sort of exercise," Pyrite grins as Muir reaches the edge of the pool, resting her arms on the ledge to hold herself in front of Pyrite. They look around at the pool behind Muir and they let out a wistful sigh as they look back at Muir. "I never learned how to swim and now I'm just hoping that there's no water in the arena."

"Want me to teach you?" Muir offers before even realizing that she shouldn't share her advantage in case there _is_ water in the arena. She really needs to stop trying to help out everyone…

Pyrite considers the offer for a minute and Muir glances over when she hears someone else jump into the pool. Link is soon gliding past them, clearly feeling just as comfortable in the pool as she does. It's just their own little place of comfort and at least for Muir, it reminds them so much of home. "No…not right now." They sigh again and Muir glances back up in time to find them nervously pushing back their short hair. "I wanted to talk to you…"

Muir's stomach is once more twisting in knots at this. Why do people always have to use that phrase? She doesn't think there's been a single time she hasn't gotten immensely worried when someone told her they need to talk. "About what?" Muir asks, a small part of her hoping that they're feeling just as conflicted about Link and Pride as she is. She's not sure she could stand up for them on her own, but maybe if she had an ally with her…

"About that…that _prick_ from Two," Pyrite finally says, seemingly struggling to curse at Stark and Muir finds herself smiling a little at them. "What?"

"You don't swear, huh?" Muir asks and Pyrite nervously shakes their head, seemingly worried that Muir is going to judge them for it. "Well, I had my mouth washed with soap as a kid a few times for swearing so I can call him all sorts of things for the both of us. How about I start with calling him a douche canoe?"

"Douche canoe?" Pyrite echoes before sheepishly covering their mouth with their hand. They both start laughing at this but trail off, falling into an awkward silence about the situation. "I…" Pyrite starts before sighing, seemingly struggling to put into words how they're feeling. "It just feels _wrong_. And I hate it. I've always tried to do what's right back home in One. And yet…"

"And yet, you know that they have to die if you're to win," Muir offers, watching Pyrite and waiting until they nod their head in agreement. "Yeah… I know how you're feeling."

They fall silent once more, Muir not knowing what to even say. She knows what she wants to suggest, but she's just scared of being told it's stupid and having Pyrite tell Stark and then she'll just get targeted right away. She looks away from her ally, not wanting to face rejection of the idea, and finds herself looking over at the asshole from Two as he works through the agility course. He doesn't look that intimidating…definitely not like the typical brutes Two offers up. Muir feels like she could take him in a fight…so why the hell are they letting him be in charge of the pack? "Fuck that guy."

Muir turns back to Pyrite in time to see them raise an eyebrow in surprise at her. "I do hope you aren't being literal because if you are, I'm going to pass."

Muir finds herself laughing loudly at this, making Pyrite crack a grin at her. "Oh I'll also pass. Totally not my type." Muir pulls herself out of the pool, swinging herself up to sit on the ledge so she can meet Pyrite's gaze evenly. "But seriously…why are we letting him be in charge?"

"Well, Two has two volunteers this year, so…" Pyrite answers quietly, trailing off as Muir keeps looking at them expectantly. "But that's it…that's the only reason why."

"So why don't we say 'screw you' and have our own pack of us and our District partners?" Muir asks, suddenly becoming nervous as she waits for Pyrite's response. She doesn't know where this boldness came from but…she kind of likes it. Even if Pyrite says no, at least attempting to keep their District partners around has started to quell the ball of nerves in her stomach.

"He'll target us right away," Pyrite responds, not giving a definite answer yet.

Muir raises an eyebrow at them and shrugs, "Don't you think we could take him in a fight?"

"We could," Pyrite agrees before looking over at Link still swimming in the pool and then over at Pride at the spears station next to them. "But they probably can't."

"Then we make sure to protect them in the bloodbath," Muir offers, giving another shrug as Pyrite turns their gaze back to her. "I doubt he's dumb enough to get into a fight of two against one."

"True…" Pyrite trails off, seemingly thinking through every possible scenario before agreeing to this plan, even if it seems like they want to. "There's also Ampora."

Muir glances around the training room until she finds the girl from Two training with katanas and looking absolutely lethal. She certainly will be a problem…but she seems to hate Stark just as much as they do. "We extend the offer to her to stay in our alliance. If she doesn't want to stay, fine, we won't target her in the bloodbath unless she targets us. But I don't think her District loyalty is as strong as ours…"

Pyrite hums at this, glancing around once more at the other careers. When they finally look back at Muir, they let out a small sigh of relief. "This feels right. Maybe it's a dumb decision in the long run to be so worried about them, but I don't want to not stick to what I think is right in the arena. I want to still be _me_ , you know?"

Muir finds herself nodding along with this, knowing her own nerves are disappearing, but soon getting replaced by new ones. "How do we tell him?"

They both look over at Stark, finding him sipping water while watching the boy from Nine as he attempts to climb the rock wall next to him. Muir's eyes glance over at the prominent clock in the room. Not even 1 PM yet…there's still so much time left in the day. "How about we tell him right before training is done for the day?"

"Yeah, definitely," Pyrite agrees quickly with her, clearly thinking along the same lines of Muir. "But…together?"

"Of course," Muir answers quickly, relief washing over her that she won't have to be the one that has to break the news to Stark alone about this. "We're allies and I'll stick with you until we reach a point where there's few enough tributes left that we decide to amicably split."

"And then let the best one win?"

Muir sticks her hand out towards them, slowly smiling and finally feeling like she can actually start training without feeling a pit of guilt about her choices. And she feels so much better about her alliance. Maybe she's being dumb. But she'd rather be dumb and feel right in her choices. And…part of her knows that this is the choice that would make both of her parents proud. And that's enough reason for her to agree to this plan. After a few seconds, Pyrite takes her hand, shaking it firmly as they smile in return at her. "May the best one win."

* * *

 **Okay we are back! And we're at the really fun stuff with everyone starting to interact with each other! If you did not see a tribute in this chapter, we're going to see them during Training Day Two! I planned it out to make sure everyone at least makes an appearance in the training chapters.**

 **So what do we think? Are we surprised by some of the alliances? How will Stark and Ampora react to Muir and Pyrite? I'll make a list of the alliances eventually, once all of them have been confirmed.**

 **RQ #14:** Let's see...you know, we'll go along with the theme of training. What station would you go to first for training? I'd probably go to the bow and arrows because archery is cool.

 **Okay! Hopefully we'll be back soon checking in with Keelin and Kilroy for Training Day Two! Most likely the next update will be after my semester wraps up on December 12th. Best of luck to everyone else reaching the last few weeks of the semester and sending you good vibes! We'll get through it!**


	20. Training Day 2: The Choices We Make

**Chapter 17:**

 _Keelin Varela, 18, District Five_

Keelin still can't quite grasp the fact that no one had actually agreed to be her ally yesterday. She thought for sure someone would agree. But Addae just ignored her, Kilroy told her to fuck off, and the weirdo from Three has decided to just be with kids younger than him. She was hoping to take advantage of the fractured career alliance to snag Pride or Link as allies, but even that plan seems to have been ruined. Well…maybe not ruined completely, but even she doesn't know if she's bold enough to ask Stark to be allies after how pissed off he seems at Ampora ditching him this morning to stay with the others, effectively casting him out.

She thought for sure her flirting would get someone to be allies with her, yet here she is, day two of training and still with no allies. She's running out of options to ask, having already been turned down by three of her options and two out of the running. But there's two more she hasn't had a chance to talk to yet as they kept away from her yesterday. And conveniently, the two are working together right now. She supposes if they say no, she could always ask the girl from Three that volunteered, but seems like she already found an ally with the boy from Ten. Maybe that girl from Six? Hopefully she won't have to get to them but she will if she has to.

Keelin taps her fingers on the edge of the table holding throwing knives that she should be practicing with instead of staring across the room at her potential allies. But how can she focus on learning skills when she's ally-less? She's screwed for the arena if she doesn't find someone to work with her. She doesn't know what she'll do if they say no to her. Ask Stark? Try to work with some of the younger ones? She doesn't know how she will manipulate the others to work for her and Stark is…well, a very pissed off career, which anyone can see from the way he keeps stabbing a dummy while sending glares over at the other careers all working together. But if allying with him means she can get home to Nira, then she's willing to give it a shot. But she'll ask only after asking these two.

Keelin puts back her shoulders and flips her hair over one shoulder before starting to walk over towards the fire starting station where Tanelai is occasionally awkwardly helping Garth fix his mistakes. As she approaches, Tanelai is the first one to glance up and Keelin gives her the best flirty smile that she has, but she watches as Tanelai scrunches her face in confusion. Well, not quite the reaction that she expected but better than the glare she got immediately from Kilroy yesterday. Garth looks up from his work to see who Tanelai is looking at, just before his poorly constructed pile of wood collapses. He sighs heavily at it, turning to stare at it for a few seconds. "I'm hopeless."

"Hey I'm from Seven and still struggling with it," Tanelai offers to him, and he briefly looks up at her, getting a small encouraging smile from her. But it doesn't do much to clear the despair in his eyes lined with dark circles. "You'll get there eventually."

Keelin clears her throat, bringing their attention back up to her and doing her best to keep the flirty smile on her face to hide the fact that she's a bit annoyed they already were ignoring her. "Mind if I join you?"

Garth simply shrugs at this and turns back to the pile of sticks that had once been a partially built fire, letting out another sigh as he stares at it, looking completely crushed by his failure. Tanelai stares at him for a few seconds, a look of what Keelin can only assume is pity, before finally turning back up to Keelin and motioning at the station she's sitting at. "Better you joining than one of the careers."

"Wouldn't be too surprising if we did see one of the careers here this year," Keelin gives a small laugh at this as she sits down closer to Tanelai, having decided that she seems like the more competent of the two. She'll take Garth if it means not being alone, but she's not _that_ desperate yet to be allies with a boy that can't even properly build a fire without failing. "But hey, I'm not complaining about if it means an easier time for me."

Except Keelin is complaining. Her top choices for allies were Link and Pride and she was thrilled at lunch yesterday to overhear Stark telling them they were out of the alliance. She saw them for what they really are, something Stark clearly didn't see – partially trained careers, which is more training than anyone else.

But whatever. Keelin has other options still. She's not _that_ salty…maybe a little…or a lot. They would have been the best allies possible.

"I don't want to be anywhere close to one of them," Garth says softly as he starts organizing his sticks to try and build the fire again. He briefly looks over at the weapons where the careers work and Keelin follows his gaze, finding him looking more at Stark than the others but when she turns back to him, he's shaking his head at them. "And I _especially_ don't want to be the person that runs into Stark."

"Fuck no," Tanelai snorts at that, shaking her head as she laughs a little to herself while Garth glances over at her and smiles at her reaction. Keelin just sits there, watching them and kind of in disbelief that they're actually ignoring her while she's sitting right next to them. "But with any luck he'll be so focused on making sure they 'regret it' like he promised yesterday afternoon that they'll just target each other."

"I think you could take them," Keelin says quickly, trying to bring herself into this conversation before there's no chance of her getting them as allies. They both turn to give her looks of varying disbelief, but hey, at least they're looking over at her. "Well maybe not completely alone but come on, you two look capable." They continue giving her the look of disbelief, if anything it gets worse, but it's the perfect chance for Keelin to win them over. After all, everyone loves a bit of flattery. "Well Tanelai, you seem pretty good at this, but I'm not surprised since you're from Seven. And I bet you're really good at using axes! That's a lot more than most of us know going into the Games."

Tanelai raises an eyebrow at her and sits up a bit straighter. She clears her throat before responding, "Oh, yeah, uh…totally. Lots of axe skills. Like, everyone in Seven works in the forest…" She trails off as she looks between Garth and Keelin, clearly trying to seem more confident in her skills than she actually is. But Keelin honestly doesn't care if she's faking the skills as long as she'll fall for Keelin's flirting and be her ally.

"And Garth! You…" Keelin hesitates at what to say about Garth as she stares over at him, taking in his appearance. He's not a bad looking guy and while he's not rivalling the careers muscles, he's not exactly scrawny. She catches sight of a few faded bruises along his collarbone and raises an eyebrow at them, making Garth consciously start adjusting his tank top in a futile attempt to cover them. Keelin smirks a little at this, recognizing the marks for what they really are. She never would have guessed Garth was the type. "You're from Nine, right?"

"Yeah…" Garth cautiously answers, still self-consciously trying to cover up the fading hickies on his chest. He doesn't seem trustful of Keelin at all now that she's paid attention to them but whatever, he's not the ally she truly wants. "What about it?"

Keelin tries to keep up her friendly smile at him to get him to relax, but it doesn't seem to be working. "Surely you know plant stuff. And you use, what, sickles? To cut the grain or something. You're eighteen so I'm guessing you work in the fields?"

Garth tenses up at her mention of work but relaxes a bit at her asking about the fields. Keelin will admit, she's curious about that, but not right now. "I don't think being able to identify grain is going to really help me out in the arena."

"Hmm," Keelin hums to herself as she stares at them, watching them both try to keep paying attention to the fires they're trying to build, or rebuild in Garth's case. This…is not quite going how she anticipated. At least they hadn't cursed her away first thing, but like…how are they not paying more attention to her? "It sounds like to me you have quite a few skills but just need someone to help balance them out. Are you two working together?"

Tanelai and Garth share a look at this, both of their faces silently asking each other that same question, making Keelin watch in surprise. She thought for sure these two were already allies since they were working together at some of the training stations. "Umm…" Tanelai speaks up, now glancing between Garth and Keelin nervously. "We're uh…working together at the same station, if that's what you mean."

"So you don't have any allies yet?" Keelin asks, trying to hold back her excitement at the response. This is perfect for her. She'll finally get allies to help her out in the arena and then she'll win and get back home to Nira. And once home, she'll propose and life will be great.

"No…" Tanelai says slowly, glancing over at Garth hopefully and Keelin can tell that the girl wants to be allies with him. But, hopefully Keelin's flirting will convince her to ally with her instead.

"Not yet," Garth adds softly, not quite looking at Keelin as he answers her.

Keelin stares at the two, giving them her best flirty smile as she flips her hair over her shoulder. "Well what would you say to being allies with me? I think we could work well together."

Tanelai simply stares at the girl for a few seconds before speaking up, "You know, I'm good, thanks." She turns back to her work, but keeps giving Keelin a sarcastic response as she stares at the girl from Seven in disbelief that she actually said no. "I already tried to be friends with a flirty girl and that ended really well with me getting tased." Garth raises his eyebrows at Tanelai and she simply shrugs her shoulders at him and chuckles a bit, seeming so casual about what she said. "That's a story for another time."

"I'm very curious," Garth responds, a hint of amusement to his voice. But Keelin doesn't find any amusement. Not when she's just gotten rejected for a _fourth_ time. When Garth turns to look at Keelin, the amusement drops from his face and he awkwardly glances away from her. "I, uh…don't really know if we would be a good match as allies. Can I think about it?"

Keelin can tell by the look in his sad eyes that he has the answer but simply doesn't want to say it. "Forget it," she answers angrily, standing up and her foot _accidentally_ nudges Tanelai's nearly complete pile of wood, sending it toppling to the ground. Tanelai glares up at her and Keelin matches it, "Have fun having no allies. When you could use an ally in the arena, just remember that you could have had one."

Keelin storms away from the station before they can respond, but hears Tanelai say not so quietly, "Bitch." Whatever. Screw them. They can fuck off if they don't want to be her allies.

She pauses in the middle of the training center, trying to calm down her anger. What's wrong with people that they don't want to ally with her? She doesn't want to be alone in the arena… Not many people win without having any allies to help them along the way.

A thought starts creeping in, bringing her mood ever further down. This is probably just karma. Of course she doesn't have any allies. Why should a murderer like her have allies? She doesn't deserve anyone trusting her with their life.

Before she can just completely give up hope on ever finding allies, she finds someone looking over at her, attractive smirk on his face before turning back to using a whip to knock a weapon out of the trainer's hand. Perhaps…maybe she doesn't need to have an ally that trusts her. She could have an ally where they both know damn well they're only working together out of convenience. And she certainly wouldn't mind being allied with the second hottest person here, after her, of course.

Stark's certainly not the career she wanted to be an ally with, but he's certainly a better option than the rest of the tributes around. And he's a man with a fractured ego…those men always just need a little bit of attention and an ego boost with a little flirting. Keelin can totally do that.

So sure, Stark _was_ one of her last option. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And he is probably just as desperate as her right now for allies, even if he won't admit it.

So Keelin puts her shoulders back and saunters over, making sure to sway her hips. She knows how to win over guys like Stark Calloway. She can see him watching her approach while trying not to pay attention to her too much. "Whips?" She asks as she gets close to him. "Kinky."

"Sometimes, but only if that's what people ask for," Stark responds as he looks over her, taking in her appearance as her curls up his whip. When he gets back to meeting her gaze, he gives her a wink coupled with a flirty smile. _Oh she totally has this._ "No luck with those two?"

Okay maybe she doesn't totally have this. "What, Garth and Tanelai? Not worth my time." Keelin steps closer to him, eying him up and giving him her best smile as she looks up at him through her eyelashes. "Have you been watching me?"

"I've been watching a few people," Stark answers with a wink before turning his gaze over to where Garth and Tanelai still sits. "Want to know a secret about Garth? He's hiding that he's a whore."

"What?" Keelin asks in shock, dropping all the flirting in her surprise. "How do you know that?"

Stark takes a few seconds to continue to look over at Garth before slowly bringing his gaze back to Keelin, lazy smirk on his face as he stares down at her. "Takes one to know one."

Keelin raises an eyebrow at him, not expecting that response at all from Stark. She slowly gets over her surprise, her smile forming once more. "You really are a kinky bastard."

Stark laughs loudly at this, only making Keelin feel more confident that she'll get him to agree to be allies. "That's what Faustus loves to call me at home. We'll see if you can start calling me that," he gives her another wink at her.

Keelin takes a step closer to him, getting bolder by the second with the way he's flirting back with her. "Well," she says as she starts to trail her hand over his arm, more impressed with his toned muscles than she would like to admit. "That's going to be up to you. I have no problem calling you that."

Stark grabs ahold of her wrist, stopping her from trailing her fingers along his collarbone. He takes a deep breath through his nose before letting go of her wrist. She moves her hand away from him, giving him a smirk matching the ones he had earlier. Now that she knows what he's into, well, it's so easy for her. "So…what was your name again?"

"Keelin," she answers softly, taking another small step closer to him as she pulls her hair back, letting him see her bare neck and chest. She sees his eyes trail down and she puts her shoulders back, so thankful for whoever it was that decided the tributes would wear tanktops.

"So Keelin," Stark says, letting his whip unravel and hit the floor, making Keelin jump a little bit. Is she in over her head with him? No…men are so easy to figure out what they want. "Are we going to keep pretending we don't know why you're here or would you rather just ask me already if I want to be your ally?"

Keelin clears her throat at this, not quite sure what answer Stark wants to hear. He keeps staring down at her and raises an eyebrow at her, and she'll admit, he is quite attractive. "Well," she starts, still trying to figure out where she's going with this. "I think the others were all idiots and should have never left a strong man like you."

Stark's eyes turn angry immediately at this and Keelin takes a timid step back from him. He takes in a deep breath through his nose, clearly trying to control his anger. "They're fucking idiots and they're going to learn quickly that they shouldn't have done that."

Keelin carefully considers her next words, something she normally doesn't do. But she can't lose her chance to be allies with Stark. "How can I help you make them pay?"

Stark stares down at her, angry slowly disappearing as he takes a step closer to her. "Well Keelin," he starts quietly, voice low and Keelin is just a little turned on by him. "First you're going to try and get Kilroy to join us."

"She told me to fuck off yesterday," Keelin tells him, feeling anger rising again at how quickly the girl from Eight had dismissed her. "I don't think she'll change her mind now."

"She might if you tell her it's an alliance with me," Stark gives a casual shrug of his shoulders at this, still keeping his cocky smile on his face. "I've seen the way she is training. That girl knows how to fight and we're going to need her."

Keelin stares up at him for a few seconds, really unsure about this idea. But eventually she nods her head, knowing she'll have to do what he wants. He's clearly in charge and she's not going against him like the other careers did. "Of course, you're the boss." A pleased expression forms on his face at this and Keelin gives him a flirty smile. So he just needs some ego boosts to know he's in charge. "What if she says no again?"

"I'll try talking to her," Stark answers confidently, seemingly not believing Keelin that Kilroy is not going to agree. But whatever, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets home to Nira. "Then you're going to get back to practicing with knives because I'm not having an ally that knows nothing about how to fight."

Keelin nods her head in agreement, too aware that she's spent too much time searching for allies that she should have focused into learning skills. "And then?"

Stark smirks as he takes a step back from her so he can take another good look at her. "Then you can meet me up on the rooftop later tonight."

Keelin raises an eyebrow at his request and keeps the smile on her face, even as she questions if she wants to go that far in her desperation to get home. But every victor has had to do whatever it takes to win. Keelin is going to be no different. She needs this alliance with Stark and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a bit into him. Well, surely Nira will forgive her once she's home alive.

"What time are we meeting?"

* * *

 _Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight_

The food at lunch time is shit compared to what Kilroy's been eating every night for dinner thanks to Chef Mae. But still, it's better than anything she's had at home and she'll be damned if she doesn't enjoy every one of her last few meals. Plus the meal is just so much sweeter watching the prissy bitches in the careers have drama between them. Oh lunch was so beautiful yesterday.

She keeps stabbing away at her ham, glaring out at all the tributes from where she sits off in the corner, having moved a table away from the rest just to avoid talking to them. No fucking way is she having any allies. She's seen enough Games to see how allies can way too quickly become friends. It's already happening with some of the groups. The careers are getting close to each other, genuinely looking like they're having fun joking around at lunch, a stark contrast to yesterday. Well, that's because they're missing Stark today. Kilroy snorts to herself at her joke, making Virote look over at her briefly from where he sits nearby with Carrie-Ann. But when she glares at him, he quickly turns back around.

Then there's Ryo, Beta, and Gwenith. What an odd alliance. She had overheard them talking about making potions this morning and she didn't think it was possible to find someone weirder than her District partner. Well, that giggling girl is certainly close.

A few others are being smart, sitting alone and choosing not to have allies like her. Maddie keeps looking over at her and around at the others, also sitting as far from them as possible. Ander sits alone as well, not a surprise to Kilroy after seeing him often at the same station as her, taking out anger on the punching bags. And then there's Addae, who doesn't take his eyes off of Beta as he eats his lunch.

It's such an odd group that Kilroy is part of. How did she wind up with them?

She knows exactly how and she's still angry about it, even if Rami hasn't been able to find out the definite answer yet, she knows she was rigged in.

There's no point in her having any allies that she might just bring down with her. And she refuses to lose another friend.

Kilroy sighs as she sets down her silverware and shuts her eyes, trying to go through the breathing exercises she's been practicing to keep her emotions suppressed. Come on, Kilroy, don't you dare break down now of all places. But she's so close to…how is anyone supposed to keep it all together after losing their best friend and the person they thought of dating, and then knowing that they were rigged into the Hunger Games? At least at home she had the gang to help her keep it together. She was never truly alone at home. But now she is and she barely wants to admit to herself that she's afraid of dying.

She can only hope by time the Games start that she'll finally accept her death. One bright side to this is the fact that she'll get to see Drusa again, assuming there's actually an afterlife.

"Hey Kilroy, can I sit with you?"

Kilroy opens her eyes immediately before glaring at her District partner standing in front of her. "No."

"Come on," Iannis smiles down at her, still unaware of just how much she doesn't want anything to do with him. He should stay as far from her as possible and still give District Eight some sort of hope at getting a victor. "I don't want to eat alone again."

"Then go ask someone else," Kilroy responds coldly to him, taking another angry bite of her ham. Yet he still is standing there so she points away with her knife and speaks through a mouthful of ham. "I'm serious, get lost."

"Fine," Iannis answers sadly before leaving her, walking around the other people before finally sitting alone.

Kilroy turns her attention back to her food, trying not to feel bad for sending him away. It's for his own good. But her silence doesn't last as she sees someone approaching her. When she glances up, she shakes her head again at Keelin. "Did you not get the hint yesterday when I told you to fuck off?"

Keelin doesn't get mad like yesterday, instead getting a bit of a smirk on her face. "I told him you wouldn't change your mind," Keelin says as she sits down across from Kilroy, ignoring her glare. "But I told him I would try so here I am."

"Well you can leave," Kilroy says with a huff of anger, yet Keelin stays there, crossing her arms on the table in front of her as she continues to stare at Kilroy with a somewhat amused look. And she'll admit, she's a little curious who she's talking about. She hadn't been paying attention to Keelin since she realized she's not really a threat. "Who?"

Keelin smirks a bit at her question and Kilroy starts stabbing her ham, angry that Keelin is amused by her. "Stark."

Kilroy lets out a loud laugh at this. She sets down her silverware, in disbelief that Keelin is actually teamed up with Stark of all people. "Fuck no! Oh that's real funny. No fucking way am I _ever_ being allies with a career. They're all prissy bitches and Stark seems like the worst."

At that, Kilroy stands up, sending the bench slamming down to the ground behind her. Most of the tributes look over at her, but she doesn't care. She stares down at Keelin some more, the girl showing just a bit of fear at her anger. Good. "Leave me the fuck alone."

With that, Kilroy stomps off towards the stations, tired of dealing with all of these people trying to be her ally. When will they get the hint that she just wants to be left alone? She's doomed and not going to bring anyone down with her in the arena that she cares about. She already did that and she's never forgiving herself for it.

As she heads back to the punching bags, she glares up at the Gamemakers, finding a few of them watching her. At the front of the balcony, she sees the Head Gamemaker Salome laughing as he watches her, a younger woman with blue hair standing behind him and glaring at him instead of Kilroy. Good, she's not the only one that hates the man. She can't control herself, even though she knows it might get her punished, and she raises up her right hand and flips him off. The laughter disappears from his face right away but the woman at least looks amused by Kilroy's action. Why not tell the Gamemakers how she really feels? She's already doomed.

Kilroy wastes no time getting back to taking out her frustrations on the punching bag in front of her. She can feel the eyes of the Gamemakers watching her, but she doesn't care. Let them see that she knows what they have done and she is not going to sit back and just die. No, she's going to go down fighting.

As she punches away, her fists already tender from punching so much already, all she can focus on is the emotions raging through her, something she's usually so good at handling. There's her anger towards the Gamemakers and Blaise Janek for rigging her in to the Games. Her frustration that she never got to partake in the revenge against Martinus Dorvin. Her fear at dying in these Games. But mostly there's her sadness that she always carries from losing Drusa.

With a cry of anger Kilroy gives a hard punch at the bag before cursing as the skin on her hand finally burst open and starts bleeding. She just stares down at it, watching the blood start slowly dripping down her clenched fist and getting flashbacks to watching Drusa bleeding out on the ground. Without being able to stop herself, the walls she's kept up to hold back her emotions come crashing down and she can feel her eyes prickling with tears that she's refused to let fall ever since she was Reaped.

"Why didn't you say you're hurt?" The trainer asks her, concern laced in their voice as they approach her, but keeps a distance, having seen the past day and a half what she's like. "Let me help you."

"I'm fine" Kilroy answers quietly, not trusting herself to speak louder without showing all the emotions she's barely keeping inside. "Can I just go back upstairs?"

"I…no one usually leaves early." The trainer hesitates at this, clearly confused by Kilroy's request.

"Please," Kilroy begs quietly, only minutes away from breaking down.

"Okay," they finally say and that's all Kilroy needs to hear before taking off at a brisk pace towards the elevator, keeping her head down and hoping everyone is still eating lunch and won't see her. "But your hands!"

Kilroy presses her hands against her shirt, the blood blending in with the maroon tank top she was forced to wear. She reaches the elevator and slams her fist against it repeatedly, desperate to get out of here. It takes only a few seconds for the doors to open, but it feels like minutes until she's able to run on and slam the button for floor 8. As soon as the doors shut, she finally breaks, no longer able to hold it together. She's had to hold it together for too long, always having to be the strong one for the gang to keep them all together. But she can't always do this. She's still human and lost someone she cares so much about.

The doors slide open and Kilroy stumbles out, wiping her eyes with the back of her fist, making her wounds and her eyes sting as she gets blood into them. She lets out a cry at this as she keeps stumbling forward, trying to get to her room through her blurry eyes. She doesn't want Rami and Mae seeing her like this. She doesn't want them to pity her. She doesn't want to see the sadness in their eyes as they try to hide their thoughts of 'poor Kilroy'.

"Kilroy?"

"Leave me alone," she croaks out, voice cracking as she tries to ignore the concern in Mae's voice.

"What are you doing back?" Mae asks before placing a hand on her shoulder and making her turn around. When she sees Kilroy's face, she stops whatever angry quip she was about to give and instead starts looking angry as she puts both hands on Kilroy's shoulders. "What happened? What bastard do I have to go curse out?"

"No one," Kilroy shakes her head, simply unable to stop the tears falling down her cheeks. "At least, no one here. I just-" She gasps as she tries to hold in her sobs.

"Come with me," Mae says as she puts her arm around Kilroy's shoulders and starts leading her away from her room and over towards the dining room. "There's someone here that you'll want to hear what they have to say."

"I don't want to talk to anyone!" Kilroy stubbornly responds as she digs her feet into the ground, but the escort is a lot stronger than she anticipated and keeps dragging her along.

She finally stops in the doorway to the dining room and stares over at Rami, futilely trying to wipe away her tears so her mentor doesn't see. Someone sits across from them and turns to look at her as she starts hiccupping.

Rami stands up, motioning for someone to go get help for her. "Get bandages and some washcloths." They watch as Mae leads Kilroy over to the table, sitting her down and taking the spot next to her. "What happened?"

"I finally broke!" Kilroy yells before cringing at the way Rami tenses up at her, not wanting to be angry at them. They've done so much to try and help her no matter how much she told them it was useless. "I'm sor-sorry," she hiccups, trying to avoid looking at this new person. She mildly trusts Rami and Mae to not tell anyone what happened, but someone new? "I-I couldn't-"

"It's fine, dear, you can tell us when you're ready," Mae says as she rubs her back soothingly, surprising Kilroy once more by how kind she can be. "And someone get her some bloody hot chocolate or something."

Ah, there's the escort she's used to seeing. It makes her faintly start to smile as someone scrambles out of the room.

"Kilroy…I won't ask," Rami says and she nods her head at them, only growing more respect towards them. "You can tell me if you want. But…you need to hear what my friend Mitra has to say. She's an old friend of mine and works in the Games Headquarters as one of the scientists that actually creates the mutts. Not high enough to be called a Gamemaker-"

"But still important enough to hear what goes on about the tributes," Mitra interrupts them, a bit of sass entering her voice at them saying she wasn't that important. Kilroy finally looks over at the woman and…she's surprised by how normal she looks. No extravagant clothes, no crazy alterations. Just…boring looking for the Capitol. "People forget about me easily and say things in front of me that they maybe shouldn't."

Mitra waits to continue as the people return and set down hot chocolate, tissues, damp washcloths, and bandages in front of her. Kilroy wipes at her face, trying to keep back tears until Mae snatches her hands away to take care of them. She only flinches slightly from the sting as antiseptic is placed on them, focused more on the woman sitting near her. "Can you tell me if Blaise fucking Janek rigged me into the Games?"

Mitra lets out a sharp laugh at this and looks back at Rami. "You weren't kidding when you said she's a firecracker."

"Well?" Kilroy asks, growing impatient. "Just tell me already if I'm going to be allowed to win or not!"

Mitra gives her an apologetic smile and Kilroy knows her answer before she even opens her mouth. "Akakios has told all the Gamemakers to make sure you do not win. And I heard this morning that he's giving you a high score so you're targeted by the careers."

Kilroy simply stares at Mitra in shock, trying to pretend it's not true. She had a faint hint of hope deep down that maybe, just maybe, it was pure dumb luck that she was Reaped. But to get confirmation? To hear someone tell her she's going to die, no question about it?

She simply leans back in her chair, eyes blurring with new tears that she doesn't do anything to stop. Why bother? She's tired of holding it all together. Why shouldn't she be allowed to react at the news of her impending death? Anyone else would react similarly.

Rami clears their throat before standing up. "Mitra, I'll walk you out."

"Of course," she responds and stands up as well. Kilroy can barely see her staring down at her in pity. "I'm sorry to be the one bringing you this news. But it's better if you know now."

Kilroy nods her head at her before Rami walks her out, but isn't sure if she agrees. Now that she knows…she almost wishes she could keep going on with that tiny glimmer of hope.

"We'll still support you," Mae says quietly, patting Kilroy's hand that she just got done wrapping in bandages.

Kilroy finally turns her head to look over at the escort as Rami walks back in. "Don't waste your time. I'm a dead woman walking."

"Why?" Rami asks, grabbing their chair and spinning it around so they can rest their arms on the back of it as they stare at Kilroy. "Why are the Gamemakers making sure you die?"

Kilroy stares down at her bandaged hands, unsure if she should even tell them. She doesn't want to get her friends in trouble back home for what she says. She doesn't want to mess up everything her Uncle has worked towards. And yet…Rami didn't need to get Mitra to reveal this information. They went out of the way for her. "I don't exactly follow the laws back home," she finally says, taking in a shaky breath as she tries to keep speaking. "And before you ask, I have never murdered someone. I…I hate hurting people that don't deserve it."

"And someone finally found out?" Rami asks and Kilroy shrugs at them. "Someone with a lot of money and influence."

"Like Blaise Janek."

Rami raises up their hands, "I'm not getting caught up in picking sides. I just want to know why my tribute is getting targeted by the Gamemakers."

"Well, now you know," Kilroy lets out a sigh, finally picking up a tissue to wipe her cheeks. "God, I fucking hate crying."

Kilroy can see the concerned look on Mae's face as she cleans up Kilroy's other hand. "Why were you crying when you came up here?"

"Because everyone is always counting on me to have it together and I can't do that all the time!" Kilroy answers louder than she intended and can see Mae's face harden. "Sorry, I'm a little upset right now since I just got told I'm going to be dead within the next few weeks."

Rami keeps staring at her and Kilroy returns their gaze. "So what are you going to do? You already thought you were rigged in before today and swore you weren't going down without a fight."

"I'm still doing that, don't worry. I'm not letting any careers win because fuck 'em," Kilroy responds, voice shaking a bit. "But right now…I just need to be alone."

"Of course," Mae says gently, still surprising Kilroy by how different she is compared to on her cooking show Terror Kitchen. She pats Kilroy on the shoulder and gives her a reassuring smile. "Just let us know if you need anything."

"Sure," Kilroy answers, but she knows she's not going to come to them if she needs anything. They can't bring Drusa back to life or stop Kilroy's death.

She quickly stands up and makes her way to her room at a brisk pace, slamming the door a bit behind her. She doesn't even kick off her shoes before crawling into bed and pulling up the blankets up so only her eyes peek out at the door. She curls up, wrapping her arms around her knees.

And yet, no more tears fall. She just feels…numb. Should she be feeling something? Or did she just exhaust herself from finally letting go of the walls holding in her emotions earlier?

Her mind goes to those at home and that's when her eyes start prickling, yet no more tears fall. She doesn't want any of them to watch her death. Uncle Cassio, Sabina, Faustus, Vex… _Her parents._ Kilroy can't contain a sob at the thought of her parents. They have no clue what she's done. They're surely hoping she's going to win, yet she can't. Despite knowing her death is coming, she can't just give up. She has to keep fighting so they don't lose faith in her. And she knows the gang will take care of them for her, keep giving them money so they don't have to work so much. Sabina will…she'll be a good leader in Kilroy's place.

Kilroy shuts her eyes, tired of trying to keep strong. Just a few more days of keeping it all together. She'll do her best to keep fighting in the arena, but it's so hard to fight the crushing feeling of knowing nothing she does will matter. She still won't be allowed to win, no matter how much she tries to play the game right.

But she hasn't been playing by the rules for years. She supposes she should listen to what she told Rami she would do. Why not cause some trouble if she's going to die anyways?

And then…well, then she'll at least get to see Drusa again.

* * *

 **Well I did not expect this chapter to be out so soon. But hey, when the motivation hits, it hits, and you just gotta roll with it! So there we have it, our two days of training! Now, the alliances are not going to be completely set until we hit the arena so we're still going to see some more forming.**

 **What did you think? Any surprises about these two? Kilroy was not supposed to get that angsty but are we really surprised I made something angsty? (The answer is no lol). How do you think Stark and Keelin's alliance will hold up?**

RQ #15: I'm struggling to think of a question not related to the chapter so how about a fun alliance name? Can be for any of the ones that we've seen so far.

 **I'm hopeful the next chapter won't take too long! I actually got one of the sections written today. But ideally I'll write another Senseless before then. Next up we're going to check in with Stark and Tanelai for the private sessions! See you then!**


	21. Private Sessions

**Chapter 18:**

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District Two_

Stark's starting to think he should have listened to Bronn more. But Bronn wasn't a career. He trusts his mentor's judgement, no doubt about it. But what he doesn't trust is the judgement of his fellow careers.

He still cannot fathom that they all just left him for two reaped careers. And then his own District partner! Granted, he hates Ampora, but come on, not even a small sense of District unity?

Stark shakes his head some more as he leans forward on the bench, waiting for his turn to impress the Gamemakers. And he sure will. He'll show them they shouldn't have left him. And as soon as he's in the arena, his first target will be Pride while Keelin goes for Link. Sure, she might get killed in the process, but who cares? That's the only point of allies in the Games. At least Keelin can provide him some fun before the Games start.

Stark smirks a little at that thought, turning a little to glance over at her. Yeah, there's probably worse allies for him to have. But he only has one ally, something he still wants to change.

He glances back at the boy from Nine, still tempted to ask him to be his ally. Not because Garth has shown any impressive skills in training. No, Stark is simply curious about the boy who is so similar to him, yet so different. How did Garth end up as a whore? Stark had his reason and he's here now, having worked hard to reach this point. Yet Garth seems so timid, so nervous. Stark just wants to know more and, well, he won't deny a bit of attraction there.

Garth looks around and when he sees Stark staring, Stark gives him a wink and holds in a chuckle as he watches Garth nervously look away immediately, his face flushing from his attention. Yeah, still got it.

"Excuse me."

Stark slowly turns back around, narrowing his eyes at whoever is talking to him. He doesn't want to talk to anyone near him, not with him surrounded by the careers that betrayed him and the pair from Three. When he looks around, he finds Beta staring at him with wide eyes from behind his glasses, leaning past his District partner that is doing her best to stay as far from Stark while keeping her distance from Beta. The girl is looking between them anxiously, slouching down and trying to avoid being seen by both of them.

"What do you want?" Stark asks Beta, not in the mood to put up with the lunatic. He's seen what Beta's been up to during training and doesn't know how the Gamemakers haven't stopped him yet from running around with his two allies, claiming to be making 'potions' and 'casting spells'. Stark's almost surprised no one got killed during training.

Beta blinks at him, looking a bit nervous for a second as he turns and glances around at the people sitting near them. He moves closer to Stark, making Digit jump up and move away from them, much to Stark's disappointment because Beta is able to move right towards him. "I've heard rumors."

"Oh wow, rumors," Stark answers sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he listens to the announcement for Pride to enter the training center. Stark glares at his back before realizing this means he still has a half hour left. God, he doesn't know if he can handle a half hour with Beta.

"Are you…" Beta starts asking him, glancing around once more before leaning closer, making Stark lean away as he scrunches his face at Beta, yet it doesn't stop him from continuing in a loud whisper. "Are you a vampire?"

Stark stares at Beta for a few seconds before laughing loudly at this. "A vampire? Are you serious?" He keeps laughing at how insane this kid is before seeing Beta's face get filled with rage from Stark's reaction. "Oh my God, you're actually serious."

"Of course I'm serious!" Beta raises his voice and Stark puts his elbow on his knee and rests his hand on his fist, watching him grow angry in amusement. Maybe he can tolerate being here for a half hour. "Tracer says that vampires are real!"

"Vampires?" A curious voice asks him, followed by a giggle, and Stark lets out a sigh as he turns to face Jinx. Of course the psycho giggling girl would come over and ask about vampires.

"Stay back," Beta yells at her, moving away from Jinx but unfortunately closer to Stark. Stark quickly jumps up from his seat before Beta can touch him and he shakes his head at these two crazies. "See that!" Beta says in excitement as he points at Stark. "You moved so fast! Vampires are supposed to move super fast!"

"Stark's a vampire?" Jinx asks, her face lighting up in amazement as she keeps giggling.

"I'm not a vampire!" Stark yells at them, taking steps away from them as Beta also jumps up from his spot.

"Can you bite me?" Beta asks him, stepping closer and tilting his head over to expose his bare neck. "I've always wanted to be bitten by a hot vampire!"

"I can bite you!" Jinx says to him, taking steps closer to him as he quickly takes steps back. She shows her teeth to him as she giggles once more, "Come here!"

"No! Stay away from me!" Beta yells as he starts moving among the benches, the other tributes quickly moving they're feet out of his way as Jinx follows after him. He covers up his neck with both hands as he turns back to her, "You're not a vampire! You can't bite me!"

"Holy fuck," Stark mutters to himself, shaking his head at the two. "I'm surrounded by fucking lunatics."

"Tributes! Please stay away from each other!"

Jinx stops chasing after Beta at the announcement from the Gamemakers, still giggling as she stares over at him. "Are you sure you don't want me to bite you?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Beta yells at her, only making Jinx start giggling even more. Beta covers his ears at this, shaking his head over at her. "Get out of my head!"

Stark tries to ignore them, moving away from his spot next to Ampora to go sit with Keelin. "They're crazy," he mutters to her as he sits down, watching both of them carefully to make sure they're not going to come over and keep asking him to bite them.

"Should I tell them that you do bite?" Keelin says with a wink, but Stark isn't amused by her comment.

"Don't you dare," Stark says lowly, not masking the threat in his voice. "Tell them and you're on your own and my first target."

Keelin holds her hands up defensively at this, "I was just making a joke. Besides, you can't say that it isn't true."

Stark scoffs at this, but he glances down at Keelin's exposed neck, able to see the start of marks forming. "It is true," he says as he smirks at her before shaking his head. "But they don't need to know that."

Stark turns to look back at the crazy tributes, watching Jinx return to her seat, still watching him. She giggles and waves over at him, seemingly not scared at all that he's a career. It gives him a crazy idea and he turns back to Keelin. "She volunteered, right? Anyone know why?"

"Probably because she's crazy?" Keelin offers and she isn't wrong. "She almost got kicked out of training yesterday for holding weapons out to people."

"Hmm," Stark responds, looking back over at Jinx. The girl is now staring at Beta who sits facing her, clearly not trusting her to not sneak up on him again. She keeps waving and giggling at him and occasionally chomping her teeth at him, and he keeps alternating between covering his ears and his neck. She totally is crazy, both of them are. But she must have volunteered for a reason. Maybe she volunteered to kill people.

And maybe he could use that to his advantage.

"Hey Jinx," Stark calls over to her and Keelin immediately hits his arm, but he ignores her. Instead, he focuses on the crazy girl from Ten as she looks over at him with wide eyes, continuing to giggle but Stark can tell this one is a nervous one. Good, she at least recognizes that he's a threat to her. "Come here," he says and waves her over.

"Stark, what the hell are you doing?" Keelin whispers angrily to him, clearly in disbelief at him.

"Stay quiet," he tells her and she opens her mouth, ready to speak again, but she stops, knowing better than to cross him. Stark waits until he knows she won't say anything, before turning to the giggling girl approaching him. "Hi Jinx."

"Hi," Jinx answers with a nervous giggle. She looks between Stark and Keelin, eyes showing her concern but smile still remaining on her face. "Do you want me to bite you?"

"That won't be necessary," Stark says quickly, watching her face fall in disappointment, yet the smile remains. God this girl is creepy. She's like, the definition of every creepy kid he's seen in horror movies from the Capitol. But he'll tolerate her if it means having someone to take the fall for him. "So Jinx, you volunteered, right?"

"Yep," she answers with a giggle, nodding her head rapidly and sending her short brown hair flying around her face. "I volunteered for Sally!"

"Sally, huh?" Stark asks, no fucking clue who Sally is but he'll keep asking if it gets Jinx to work with him. "Who's Sally?"

"Sally's my best friend!" Jinx says happily, smile growing genuine as she thinks about her best friend. "I volunteered for her!"

"But why would you volunteer for the Games for her?" Keelin asks curiously and Stark cuts her a look to let him keep doing the talking.

Jinx starts to nervously giggle once more, looking between the two of them. "Yeah," Stark continues, trying to understand this girl. "You're going to have to kill to get back home to Sally."

"That's okay! The Games are just legal murdering!" Jinx answers immediately, giving a shrug of her shoulders before suddenly looking around nervously.

Now Stark is _so_ curious about her. Legal murdering? Who says that about the Games? Jinx keeps nervously giggling as she waits for Stark to speak up. "Do you have any allies, Jinx?"

"No," Jinx answers and starts nearly starts frowning at this. "Sally told me to be a good girl and find people to work with. So did Johan. I want to be a good girl for them!"

Stark forces himself to smile at her, something that is returned immediately by Jinx. He looks around at the tributes near him as Ampora is called into her session. He can tell Muir is not so subtly listening to the conversation so he stands up, motioning for Jinx to follow him towards the corner of the room and away from everyone else.

"I don't have much time before I get called in," Stark leans down to whisper to the girl that's got to be more than a foot shorter than him. "How would you like to be part of a plan Keelin and I have?"

"Like allies?" Jinx asks, her giggles growing in volume.

Stark shushes her, pointing up a finger to his lips to get her to quiet down. She lets out a small giggle at this, huge grin on her face as Stark nods his head. "Yes, like allies. Do you think you can be part of the plan?" Jinx nods her head rapidly at him, eyes looking way too excited about what he might have planned. Hopefully this means she'll do what he asks and not do anything dumb. "At the bloodbath, I have a very important task for you. I need you to make sure Ampora doesn't make it out alive."

"You want me to kill her?" Jinx asks him, glancing over at the door that Ampora had just gone through. When she turns back to Stark, she once again giggles. God, that giggling is going to drive him crazy in the arena. She's going to draw everyone towards them. Well, assuming she survives past the bloodbath. He isn't too hopeful she'll survive Ampora but who knows. Maybe she's crazy enough that she'll succeed or at the very least injure his District partner.

"Yes, I do," Stark answers her, giving her what he hopes is an encouraging smile. "Do you think you can be a good girl and follow the plan?"

Jinx perks up immediately in excitement at getting called a good girl and Stark holds in a chuckle at that. All he needs to do is tell her she's being good and he'll get her to do whatever? That's great. "I can! I'll be a good girl just like Sally always tells me!"

"Good," Stark smiles down at her and stands up straight. He pats her on the head, getting a giggle from her as she grins up at him. "Now be a good girl and don't mention this to anyone."

"Not even Johan?" Jinx asks in confusion, starting to look sad that she might not be able to tell her mentor about it.

Stark shakes his head no at this, knowing that her mentor will certainly tell her not to ally with him. Not after he was nearly killed by one of the District Two tributes his year. "Not even Johan." Stark notices her smile faltering and starts frowning at her, hoping she'll believe that he's actually upset at her. "Do you think you can do that? If not, well…I guess we can't be allies."

"I want to be a good girl," Jinx responds, clearly conflicted on what to do. "I like Johan…but if you say I can't be a good girl if I tell him, then I won't."

"Good," Stark answers her, giving her a fake grin that she genuinely returns with a giggle.

"Stark Calloway, please report to the training center."

"Now be a good girl, Jinx." Stark says before starting to take steps backwards from her, watching her giggle while nodding her head. "And remember," he says before holding up a finger to his lips, motioning her to stay silent.

"I won't tell anyone your plan to attack the careers!" Jinx says excitedly before slapping a hand over her mouth, realizing she spoke up a bit loudly. "Sorry," she mumbles through her hands, giggling again. "I really won't tell anyone!"

Stark gives her a stern look before turning around, shaking his head and not quite trusting her to stay quiet. But at least Ampora is already gone and won't know he was talking to Jinx, unless Muir or Link tells her. But he doubts it. Why would they try to help out their competition?

"What did you do?" Keelin asks in a harsh whisper, walking with him over to the door.

"Secured that one of two threats will be taken care of," Stark responds, giving her a wink so she calms down. "I'll tell you about it later."

* * *

"You told her to lie to Johan?" Bronn asks in disbelief, pinching his nose as Stark keeps telling him about his plan. "Don't do that to him, he's a nice guy."

"I can apologize to him after I win," Stark answers, not really sure if he will apologize. But, if Bronn wants him to, he will. Anything for Bronn.

"And she just agreed?" Bronn asks him, moving his hand away so he can stare at Stark with disapproving eyes. "She agreed to try and kill your District partner?"

"Yep," Stark responds smugly, really quite proud of his plan. "No matter what outcome happens, one of two possible threats will be taken out while I'm free to get rid of Pride."

Bronn just keeps shaking his head at Stark, making him wonder if he messed up with this plan. "Kat is going to kill me when I get home."

"Not if I'm with you," Stark offers, making Bronn stop shaking his head at him.

"Are you just unable to listen to any of my advice?" Bronn asks him, running a hand over his face in exasperation. "And Stark, the way you act in that arena reflects back on me. I'd rather not have Kat be pissed off at me."

Stark genuinely starts frowning at Bronn's reaction, not having expected this from him at all. "I'm sorry if I upset you, but I'm just doing whatever it takes to make sure I'm the victor. And right now I have quite the challenge ahead of me since the other careers all ditched me."

"Well you weren't exactly welcoming to them and their ideas," Bronn offers, staring at Stark expectantly for his response.

"There's no way I was going to be allies with Pride and Link," Stark says defensively. "I don't care if they've had training, they weren't picked by their victors and they're going to end up being an embarrassment to all careers."

"Yeah but you could have at least stuck to your word about giving them the full day of training to prove themselves and been kinder with your rejection." Bronn raises an eyebrow as surprise fills Stark's face at his response. "Yeah, don't forget that I have friends that I talk to. I know what went down."

"Whatever," Stark grumbles, not liking the hint of disappointment in Bronn's eyes. "It's done and I've done my best to get allies that will at least listen to what I say."

"Yeah, an innocent giggling girl and a flirt you spent time with last night," Bronn responds, really not sounding thrilled about Stark's allies. Stark now fully raises his eyebrows in surprise at this statement. Not embarrassment that Bronn knows, just surprise. His mentor chuckles as he taps the side of his head, "I'm not telling you all my sources of information among the victors."

"It's kind of creepy," Stark mutters, watching Bronn start smiling at him, making Stark have to fight off his own smile.

"It's my job as your mentor to keep track of everything going on with you," Bronn gives him a shrug at this. "Now can you please save me the trouble of finding things out from other victors and just trust me?"

"I do trust you," Stark says quietly, feeling like he disappointed Bronn and that's the last thing he wants to do. "I just didn't think I needed to say 'Hey I'm going up to the roof to have sex with Keelin' last night."

Bronn groans at this statement, making Stark chuckle a little at his reaction. "Unfortunately, yes, you do need to tell me that." His mentor starts shaking his head again at Stark before jumping off his stool and going right to a cabinet to take out a glass. "I need a drink."

"I thought you said you like mentoring?" Stark asks him, watching his mentor move about the kitchen with no hesitation to where he needs to go for his drink.

"I do," Bronn calls back as he takes out a bottle of liquor. He turns towards the fridge, pausing to look over at Stark before grabbing ice cubes. "But I like it a lot more when I'm not trying to keep my tribute alive _and_ make sure Kat doesn't kill me when I get home."

Stark scoffs at this and hops off the stool to also grab a glass. "Please, everyone knows that you and Clemont are her favorite victors."

"That's beside the point," Bronn says before staring down at the glass Stark holds out to him for a few seconds before finally taking it from Stark. "She's not going to be happy that you two are trying to kill each other from the very start."

"Well I guess we just have to make her happy a different way," Stark watches Bronn pour the whiskey over the ice in both glasses, waiting for his mentor to pass his drink over to him before continuing, "We make sure we get her a new victor."

Bronn starts chuckling at this and holds up his glass to Stark. Stark lightly taps his glass against his mentors as Bronn says, "Now that I can drink to."

* * *

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

Tanelai is being an idiot. A nervous, scared for her fucking life idiot. Two days of training and she still hasn't gotten an ally. She did exactly what Stefan told her not to do and she doubts she made the others believe she has some crazy axe skills like Daram told her to do.

She's a failure, all because she was too nervous to ask Garth to be her ally.

He's the only one she really wants to be her ally… Probably because the guy reminds her so much of Daram back home. Of _course_ she would be drawn to the one person in the Games that reminds her of her boyfriend. So why couldn't she just ask him already? What's the worst he'll do? Say no? Okay, that would be pretty bad for her since she handles rejection poorly…which is probably why she hasn't just asked him already. Even if he does say no, he'll probably at least be nice about it and not try to purposely target her in the arena. He's too nice for that…which is why she shouldn't want to be his ally. Nice people don't end up being the victors. Well…Letha did win last year. But that's beside the point.

Tanelai nervously taps her foot as Ryo is called in for his private session, knowing that she's going to be up next. She watches him stand up from where he was sitting out of line next to Gwenith instead of next to Tanelai, chatting away with his ally and keeping the young girl calm as she waits for her turn. He grins at his ally and gives her a fist bump, making her laugh a bit and get a tiny smile, "Just do what Beta showed us and you'll get an awesome score!"

"I will," she answers timidly before Ryo walks quickly into the training center.

Tanelai stares after the boy, filling a pit forming in her stomach that she doesn't have an alliance like that. She's so terrified of going into the arena alone. She's not fooling anyone with her odds of winning on her own. Yet…she doesn't want to get close to Garth and call him a friend, just to watch him die if she's to win and get home to Daram…

But maybe…maybe it's not too late to ask Garth. The Games haven't started yet. But she's running out of time before she gets called in to her private session. After today, who knows when she'll get a chance to talk to Garth?

Tanelai glances back at Garth and finds him staring ahead, eyes full of sadness as he fiddles with a watch in his hands. A few seconds pass before he looks around and when he sees Tanelai looking over, he gives her a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. Tanelai recognizes the nervousness on her face, knowing it matches her own. But at the small smile from him, Tanelai takes a deep breath and finally gets some courage, knowing this is what she has to do.

She stands up, smoothing out her pants before walking over to Garth, trying to give him a smile but knowing it probably looks like a grimace with how nervous she is about going in front of the Gamemakers right now. He looks up at her curiously as she approaches, tucking the watch into his pocket before she stops in front of him. "Hey," she says tentatively, not quite sure what else she's supposed to say. Is she supposed to just walk up and say 'Hey sorry I've been awkward and haven't asked yet, but you remind me of my boyfriend so want to be allies?'? No, she'll scare him away and then she'll be completely doomed.

"Hi…" he says quietly, his nervousness creeping in to his voice. He glances to either side of him at the young girls and decides to move closer to Gwenith, leaving enough open space for Tanelai to sit between him and Jinx.

Tanelai would have preferred to not sit so close to Jinx, especially after seeing her earlier start believing vampires were real and offering to bite Beta's neck. She giggles at Tanelai hesitating and pats the spot next to her. "I won't bite you. I'll wait until I'm in the arena!"

"Oh I'm so reassured by that," Tanelai sarcastically responds as she sits down, making Jinx giggle once more. The girl grins at Tanelai, showing off her teeth and pretends to chomp a bit, only making her start laughing more at Tanelai's wide eyes.

"She gives me the creeps," Tanelai whispers to Garth, getting a small chuckle from him that he tries to turn into a cough as he glances over at the girl. Jinx gives him a little wave at this, making Tanelai scoot a little closer to Garth while trying to stay out of his personal space.

"You don't know how glad I am to have someone sitting between me and her," Garth answers quietly, now making Tanelai snort in laughter. Garth starts to genuinely smile at her reaction, making Tanelai relax a bit and forget just a tiny bit that she's about to be going in front of the Gamemakers. She can just tell he's a good guy and it makes Tanelai's resolve to just ask him to be allies already even stronger. "So what's up?"

"Oh you know, just came to talk about the weather. Lovely day we're having while trapped inside," Tanelai jokes and she's able to picture exactly how Daram would shake his head at her while fighting off a smile before telling her she shouldn't cope with humor. The thought brings a sad smile to her face, making her heart ache and her eyes start prickling. She so badly wishes she was back home right now… She should be back in Seven, safe in Daram's arms as they can relax, knowing they both made it through another year of the Reapings and now only have one year left. But no, she's stuck in this terrifying place alone and Daram is probably in Seven, anxiously waiting for later when the scores will be revealed, waiting to get a bit of information about her… _She has to get home to him._

"Okay, joking aside," Tanelai finally says, turning towards Garth and trying to get some courage just to ask him already. "I probably only have a couple minutes left before I'm called in. And I should have asked this yesterday before training ended but I was nervous you would say no and I really don't cope well with rejection." Garth watches her curiously, only making Tanelai get more nervous. She starts staring at her hands as she keeps going, unable to stop herself. "And now I'm rambling because I'm nervous but…uh…I was thinking that we work well together and I can tell you're a good guy…"

"Are you asking to be allies?" Garth asks after Tanelai trails off from running out of breath. She nervously looks back up at him, trying to figure out what he's thinking, but he's keeping his face clear, except for the sadness in his eyes that Tanelai is starting to realize is just always present, whether Garth knows it or not.

"Yeah," Tanelai answers sheepishly as she nods her head at this. "Daram always tells me I ramble when I'm nervous."

"Tanelai Dorvet, report to the training center."

"Shit," Tanelai curses, feeling her heart start racing at the voice. How have fifteen minutes gone by already? And she never even got an answer from Garth. She stands up, anxiously glancing between Garth and the door into the training center, wanting to push off going in until she has an answer.

"Tanelai Dorvet, please report now."

Tanelai sighs at this and takes one last look at Garth, hoping he will give her an answer. But when he stays silent, Tanelai has her answer from him. "Just forget I asked," she says quietly, feeling dejected as she starts walking over to the door. She finally got the courage to ask him and he rejected her… She had thought for sure he would agree since they were working so well together…

She feels her eyes prickling and shakes her head at this, trying to tell herself not to get so upset about Garth's reaction. She shouldn't be caring so much about him being her ally. After all, he will have to die if she is to become victor. But who knows if that will even happen now that she doesn't have any allies.

 _She's so fucking screwed._

"Tanelai."

She stops at the door, blinking her eyes for a second to fight back any tears, before turning back to face Garth. He's standing up, looking over at her and nervously biting his lip before nodding his head at her. "The answer is yes."

Tanelai starts grinning at this, giving him an okay sign with her hand before turning back to face the training center and Gamemakers, now feeling completely ready to take them on. She did it! She finally got an ally! Daram and Stefan are both going to be so proud of her when they find out.

* * *

"I totally blew it!" Tanelai yells in frustration as she steps off the elevator onto the District Seven floor. "Ugh!" She yells as she kicks off her shoes, sending them flying into the wall before thudding to the ground.

"What are you yelling about?" Stefan asks as he rounds a corner. When he catches sight of her stomping past him, he lets out a sigh of annoyance that only makes Tanelai's anger grow. "Please tell me you didn't blow your private session."

"Well I didn't exactly have a great showing like I'm sure the careers did," Tanelai calls back to him as she stomps over to the living room. She can hear him following after her and she's not sure if she wants to talk to him or not. But, at least she knows he'll be just as bitter as her. She snorts a bit at that thought as she flops down on the couch before sighing dramatically as Stefan sits on a chair next to her.

"What are you laughing at?" Stefan slowly asks her, the boy clearly full of trepidation at whatever she might say.

Tanelai stares over at her mentor, her anger starting to diffuse a bit as she realizes her situation isn't nearly as bad as what Stefan has been going through for the past two years. The more time she's spent with him, the more she's started to realize that she likes the kid – well, he's not really a kid since he's only a year younger than her. But he's similar to her and she knows that's why they butted heads the first day. Yet she could see herself working well with him to mentor…

Well, that's if her failed private session doesn't ruin her chances.

"I was just thinking I might be more bitter than you right now," Tanelai finally answers him. She watches as Stefan shakes his head at her, but can tell he's trying to hold back a smile. "Don't lie, you know it's true."

"Yeah, whatever," he responds before clearing his throat and trying to change the subject. "So how bad did it go?"

Tanelai sighs as she kicks her feet up on the table in front of her. Stefan soon copies her actions, crossing his arms as he waits for her. Tanelai turns away from him, not wanting to see him disappointed in him when she tells him. "I accidentally threw an axe into the wall instead of a dummy." Stefan is quiet for a minute and Tanelai grows anxious as she waits for his reaction. She finally glances over at him, finding an expression on his face that she has never seen. "It's not funny!"

At that, Stefan starts laughing at her and she starts pouting and crosses her arms stubbornly at him. "That's what you're so worried about?" He stops to laugh a bit more before sitting up to be closer to her and try to get her to look at him. "Did it at least stick into the wall?"

"You're making fun of me!" Tanelai says in disbelief, only making Stefan laugh even more. Despite being upset at the outcome…she'll admit his laughter is cheering her up a bit. But she's not going to admit that to him. Not with how he's teasing her. "And yeah, it did, at least a little bit."

"Well that's something," Stefan answers, trying to stop laughing. He clears his throat, finally getting a bit serious. "Maybe they'll overlook your lack of aim and still recognize that your throw would have hurt someone a lot."

"But in the arena, missing someone could mean my death…" Tanelai says quietly, starting to feel abysmal about her shot at winning.

"Then don't throw your axe at anyone," Stefan responds as if it's obvious, and Tanelai supposes he's right. But when she keeps stubbornly looking away from him, still upset at how her session went, he sighs and stands up. He pushes her feet off the table and sits down in their spot, right in front of her. "At least you tried to show you can use weapons. I bet there are tributes that don't even pick up a weapon during the training session. So stop overreacting to it. The score will mean nothing once you're actually in the arena."

"I suppose…" Tanelai grumbles, still not wanting to accept that her blunder isn't going to bring about her downfall. She hears angry footsteps walking past them and they both look over to see Ander angrily storming past the living room, surely heading off to his bedroom to keep sulking. "How's mentoring him going?" Tanelai asks as she turns back to Stefan.

He lets out a loud sigh at this and shakes his head, "About as well as you expect. He's angry but tries to at least listen a little to what I say."

"Hmm," Tanelai hums, not really sure what else to say about her District partner. She understands why he's angry at this situation because she is too. She starts picking at her nails, trying to stop thinking about how badly her private session went. She suddenly sits up, realizing she didn't tell Stefan about the one good thing that has happened so far today. Stefan raises a single eyebrow at her but stays silent, waiting for her to speak up. "I did at least get an ally today."

"Hopefully someone who doesn't throw an axe into the wall during their private session," Stefan snorts and Tanelai throws a pillow over at him, only making him start chuckling at her. "You know I'll never let you forget that, right?"

Tanelai groans in annoyance at him, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. "Great. I'll forever be known as the tribute from _Seven_ , of all places, that threw an axe into the wall. Lovely."

"I mean, hopefully I'll be saying it was the victor from Seven that did that," Stefan offers and Tanelai glances over at him, finding him watching her with a mix of hope and sadness. "So who's this ally you got?" He asks quickly, clearly trying to change the subject.

Tanelai doesn't mention his comment about her being a victor, knowing by now how badly he just wants to have another victor with him so he doesn't have to keep doing this alone. She really hopes she can be that victor for him, yet she's not that hopeful… But at least her odds are better than before now that she has an ally. "Garth."

"Garth?" Stefan asks, scrunching his face as he tries to remember who Garth is. After a few seconds, realization crosses his face. "Oh, the boy from Nine?"

"Yeah," Tanelai nods her head at this before picking up her head to look at Stefan. "He's a nice guy – and don't even try to say that nice people don't win, I am aware. But…he reminds me of Daram and I like working with him."

"That's…not what I was going to say about him," Stefan says slowly, making Tanelai very curious by his hesitation. "There's been a rumor going around the mentors about him…"

"Tell me," Tanelai sits up at this, really growing curious about the rumor. "I like some spicy drama."

"Tanelai," Stefan warns her, making her just even more curious what they could possibly be saying about Garth that he doesn't want to tell her. "I don't want to ruin your opinion of your only ally."

Tanelai shrugs at this, not really knowing what would make her change her opinion on Garth. "Come on, it's not like he murdered someone, right?"

"Of course not," Stefan scoffs at her wild guess and shakes his head at her.

"Then just tell me, it can't be that bad," Tanelai says as she pulls her legs up and crosses them on the couch, leaning closer to Stefan. "And it's just a rumor, after all. Doesn't mean it's actually true."

"Well…" Stefan hesitates but as Tanelai keeps staring at him, he sighs and shakes his head at her. "Rumor is that he slept with Fonio. And the rumor is already spreading to the escorts and it's probably only a matter of time until everyone knows."

"Huh," Tanelai answers as she stares at Stefan, eyebrows raised in surprise. It's the only thing that she can say right now as that was _not_ what she expected Stefan to say. Wow…Garth slept with his mentor? "Spicy," she mutters, nodding her head and starting to be impressed by Garth. That's a ballsy move, sleeping with his mentor. "Can't say I blame him."

"Tanelai!"

"What?" She asks defensively, once more watching Stefan shake his head at her in exasperation. "Come on, you can't deny Fonio is hot."

"That's beside the point," Stefan answers her, continuing to shake his head at her, something he seems to do a lot. But at least it's not from him being mad at her like at first. Now it's just from her being her normal self that jokes at inappropriate times. "It's kind of smart, I'll admit. The Capitol loves Fonio – which, if you actually worked with him you would not understand. So perhaps you'll be in luck and benefit from some sponsor gifts from him. They're going to love this rumor."

Tanelai gets a gross thought and suddenly points her finger accusingly at Stefan, "Don't you dare get any ideas!"

"Ew, gross!" Stefan says quickly, shaking his head completely at the idea.

"Gross? Wow, I didn't think I was gross," Tanelai sarcastically responds, not really offended by Stefan's response. She would react the same way if the situation was reversed. "Maybe average looks, but certainly not gross."

Stefan just stares at her with an exasperated look, but Tanelai finds herself slowly grinning at his reaction. He starts shaking his head at her, trying to hold back his laughter. "You're something else…" But he trails off, smile fading as he stares at her. "I really hope you make it out."

"Me too…" Tanelai says quietly, growing sad thinking about her odds of winning… "I have to get home to Daram. And I don't want you to be alone…do you have anyone at home?"

Stefan's cheeks start turning pink at this question and Tanelai slowly gets a shit grin on her face at his reaction. He points his finger at her, "Stop that question right now."

"You do!"

"Nope!" Stefan says as he quickly stands up, trying to walk away from her. "I have no one!"

"Don't avoid the question!" Tanelai laughs as she gets up and follows after him.

She nearly runs into him when he suddenly stops and turns around to face her. "Tanelai, stop. I don't talk about them because they don't want everyone watching them because they're dating Seven's only victor… So please stop asking me about them and just focus on winning, okay?"

"That's fair…" Tanelai says quietly, feeling a little bad that she was pushing him for an answer. Will that be Daram if she wins? Surely he'll deal with it because it means she'll be home. Stefan looks relieved by her response, but that's until she starts grinning at him. "But when I win, you're totally introducing them to me!"

* * *

 **Okay we have the private sessions but not really lol. Sure, I could have shown some of what they actually did, but when you have a bunch of tributes that are this fun, well, you gotta write some more of them interacting!**

 **Yeah so this was half memes and half serious stuff but that's just the Wayward Mood (TM). But thoughts on Stark's plan? Are we surprised at all by Beta and Jinx's shenanigans? Will Tanelai and Garth be good allies? And any guesses on who Stefan might be dating? (I'm totally not asking for ideas because I have no idea right now, nope)**

 **RQ #16:** What's the craziest rumor you would have your mentor spread about you to get sponsor points?

 **Next chapter we're going to check in with Garth for the scores! And of course that won't be all that happens in the chapter lol. I'll have the full list of alliances up with that chapter! That chapter will probably be up next weekend after the next chapter of Senseless so see you then!**


	22. The Scores

**Chapter 19:**

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

Garth is just waiting for when something is going to happen and he's going to ruin everything. It's just a matter of time. He keeps messing everything up so why wouldn't he ruin his chances of winning? He should have done more in training, should have spent more time actually learning how to use weapons. There's only so much longer that he can deny that he might have to kill soon…and he doesn't know what's worse about it: who he might become or knowing people back home will see him do terrible things.

He's barely holding it together, not that he really had it together before the Reaping. Only one more full day until he's in the arena. Is he even going to survive the first day? Is he even going to survive at all? Probably not…there's no way he can take on any of the careers, even the Reaped ones.

He's a dead man walking.

Garth pulls up his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and fidgeting with his hands as he stares at the Capitol seal on the TV, waiting for them to announce the scores already. Tell him how poorly he did compared to the others so he can start explaining to Tanelai how he's not actually that bad and she shouldn't leave him. He doesn't want to be alone in that arena and he'll try whatever to not lose his one ally.

"You okay, kid?"

Garth barely turns his head to glare at his mentor as Fonio sits down on the couch next to him. He moves farther away from him, still unable to get past the rage deep in him that the victor is partially to blame for causing. "Since when do you care?"

"Since we're less than 48 hours away from launch into the arena," Fonio responds with a simple shrug. He stares over at Garth, unaware of the glare, or maybe just used to it by now. "It's kind of my job to help you get out alive so I need to know if you're thinking about doing anything stupid."

"Only stupid thing I did was ever sleeping with you," Garth says under his breath but almost regrets it right away when there's actual hurt in Fonio's eyes. But before the victor can say anything, the anthem starts playing and he turns towards the TV, masking whatever he's thinking.

Garth sighs at both Fonio's reaction and the fact that he even cares about his reaction. Damn his stupid need to always please people. Fonio doesn't deserve his concern. He's just a man whore that ruined Garth's relationship… He sighs once more as Claudia and Elliot appear on the screen. Maybe it isn't fully Fonio's fault…but he certainly contributed a lot.

"Good evening, Panem!" Claudia says way too cheerfully as Elliot grins by her side. "The time has come for us to finally get another glimpse at what our tributes have to offer this year!"

"Oh her hair's so pretty!" Gwenith says as Haider brings her into the room and sits her far away from Fonio. "I want pink hair-"

The two victors both shush her, Haider more gentle than Fonio, as a picture of Pyrite appears on the screen. Garth starts wringing his hands once more, his stomach slowly twisting with nerves now that the scores are being announced.

"Let's start with District One," Claudia starts, still smiling and taking her time, unaware of how anxious Garth is growing. "Now we certainly haven't forgotten about Pyrite Cherno since they're dramatic chariot performance. And we won't be forgetting about them anytime soon as they have earned a 10!"

"And we also have Pride Flourish," Elliot adds on, giving Claudia a flirty smile, "Who has earned a score of 7!"

"Going on to District Two," Claudia continues, starting the alternating strategy they've done for the last two years and only seeming slightly unhappy about it this year. "We have Ampora Erikson with a score of 10!"

"And then there's tall, dark and handsome," Elliot chuckles as he looks at the scores, "With a score of 9."

Garth shakes his head at that, knowing that Stark is going to be pissed that Ampora did better than him. Garth would have had to be deaf yesterday to miss the argument between the two.

"Now we have our first non-career volunteer, Digit Estrada from District Three, with a score of 6!"

"And my favorite-"

"Just because of his hair?"

Elliot can't help but laugh at this and Garth wishes he could just yell at him to move on already. Why does Nine have to be so far on the list? "Of course, I have to root for my fellow ginger. Beta Fanto has earned a 5!"

If the boy that just spent training pretending to make potions can get a 5, surely Garth can do as well as him…right?

"On to District Four with another of Elliot's favorites, thanks to her hair," Claudia rolls her eyes at the announcer before continuing, "Muir Barak has earned 10!"

"And rounding out the careers is Lincoln Bashara with a score of 6!"

Great, even the reaped careers have done well this year. Was it too much to hope that they would do poorly? Garth sighs as he watches the image switch to the girl from Five. Of course it was, they wouldn't be in the career alliance if they weren't good.

"For District Five, Keelin Varela has earned a 5!"

"And her District partner Virote Daivan has a score of 3!"

"District Six's Carrie-Anne West has earned a 4!"

"And Ryo Hideki has a score of 3!"

Seeing two 3's from people that were at so many similar stations is just making the pit in his stomach worsen. Just in time for him to start worrying about what his ally got as the picture on the screen changes to Tanelai's.

"For District Seven, Tanelai Dorvet has earned a 5!"

Garth lets out a small breath he didn't realize he was holding for his ally's score. She did well, the next highest score below Lincoln and Digit… But his anxiety won't let him celebrate her score for long. Will Tanelai ditch him if he does terrible?

"And Oleander Spruce has a score of 4!"

"Now for District Eight's Luciana Kilroy, has earned a…" Claudia stares at her notes, eyes widening as she pulls it together and clears her throat, "She has earned an 11."

"Stay away from her," Fonio says immediately after the score is announced. Garth looks over at him, finding his mentor shaking his head at the screen as Iannis' picture is shown. "No one scores above the careers without a good reason."

"I was already planning to stay away from her, she's so angry," Garth responds quietly over Elliot saying Iannis has earned a 2. God, a 2? Please let him not do that poorly.

"Now for District Nine."

"That's me!" Gwenith says excitedly as her face shows on the screen.

"Gwenith Fornholt has earned a 2!"

"And we have her District partner, Garth Rycroft," Elliot says as Garth grips his hands so tightly his knuckles start turning white in nervousness. "Who I have heard quite the rumor about him that him and his mentor have…well, gotta keep this a family friendly show," Elliot chuckles, giving a wink at the camera as Garth tenses up, just staring forward at the screen in disbelief at what Elliot said.

"The score?" Claudia asks him, but she doesn't look annoyed at him, almost like she expected him to bring this up.

 _Of course it was expected. Garth told Fonio to spread the rumor._

"Right, Garth has received a score of 4!"

"Not bad, kid," Fonio tells him and he's not wrong, it's not the worst. Not the best, but at least it wasn't a 2. "We'll get you plenty of sponsors."

But Garth can't focus on whatever Fonio is saying or Claudia announcing that Jinx got a 6. All he can think about is the fact that everyone knows now. Everyone knows what Garth has done, how he's just a…a _whore._

"I thought…" Garth stutters as Beau gets a 4. "I thought you were just telling sponsors…"

"Having second thoughts?" Fonio asks him, annoying arrogance in his voice as he stares over at Garth. But he refuses to look at his mentor, refuses to look at the man the entirety of Panem now knows he's supposedly sleeping with. "You agreed to the idea."

"But now my family knows!" Garth says loudly, finally looking over at his mentor as the poor girl Maddelena from Eleven gets a 1. Garth rubs his eyes at this and shakes his head, trying to imagine what terrible things his family must be thinking about him. "And Harlow…"

"He already knew!" Fonio lets out a humorless laugh as the last score is announced, Addae's 5. "Garth, he has long since known what you're up to. I'm trying to help you survive but until you get over the fact that _you_ messed up your relationship, there's only so much I can do. I'm not in the arena with you to kill for you."

"Stop!" Garth yells as he puts down his knees and leans forward, feeling his whole body getting too warm and a sweat breaking out on his arms. Why did he ever agree to this plan? "I need air," he gasps as he shuts his eyes, trying to fight his head spinning. Everyone knows. He'll just be known as a whore that's slept with his mentor to try and win. "I need air," Garth repeats as he stands up, starting to breath faster as he starts stumbling over to the elevator.

"You can't go outside!" Fonio yells after him and Garth hears footsteps behind him. He shakes his head, refusing to look back at the man he hates.

"He can go to the roof," Garth hears Haider say, not far behind him as Garth slams his fist on the button for the elevator and leans against the wall next to it, struggling to keep it all together. He looks over, finding the older mentor giving him a concerned look and seemingly not judging him for what he's done. "You can go to the roof."

"Thank you," Garth gasp as the doors slide open and he blinks at the buttons, pressing the top one. His breathing only gets worse trapped in the tight space and when the doors open, he practically throws himself out the doors, stumbling over his feet as he gasps to take in the fresh air. He can't get enough of the clean air, not realizing how terrible it was being inside for the past few days.

He starts stumbling through the rooftop garden, barely paying attention to where he's going, only enough to keep from tripping over plants and fountains. All his mind can focus on is what everyone back home must be thinking about him. Is his family disgusted in him? If only he could tell them that this is just a lie made up to hopefully get him sponsors. It's not true…at least, not right now. Clover is probably cursing at him…she's always been so unafraid to tell Garth when he's done something wrong and being an idiot. He could certainly use her right now for advice. He can only hope Rylan and Conway are young enough that they didn't pick up on the meaning of Elliot's words. As for his mother and grandfather…they'll understand. Surely they'll know he's just doing whatever he can to try and stay alive for them.

It's the right choice…right?

But Harlow… Garth collapse onto a bench, putting his head into his hands at the thought of Harlow. He's never going to forgive him now. Why would he when he probably thinks Garth has been sleeping with Fonio ever since they broke up? "I should have just told him…" Garth whispers to himself, hating the pit of sadness in his stomach, full of regret. "I could have avoided this whole situation." Maybe it's for the best though that they aren't dating. It will be easier for Harlow to watch him die if he hates Garth and wants nothing to do with him rather than being in love with him.

He doesn't deserve Harlow. He's a worthless liar who was just trying to save his family from starving or taking tesserae. And yet, look at how well that turned out. One of them is going into the Games and now he's just going to force them all to take tesserae and have higher odds of being reaped. Unless…unless the slim odds of him actually winning happens.

But why lie to himself about those odds?

"Can't say I expected to see you here."

Garth tenses up at the voice, slowly picking up his head and trying to pretend that it isn't Stark Calloway walking over to him right now. But he is, the career smirking as he approaches Garth, eyeing him up. "But I'm not complaining."

"What do you want?" Garth croaks out, his throat feeling dry as he scrambles to stand up, not wanting to be looked down by the career stepping closer to him. He clears his throat, trying not to let his fear of the career show on his face. He doesn't care if Stark got the lowest score of the volunteer careers, he is the last person Garth wants to anger. "Just leave me alone…"

"Hmm, I don't think so," Stark answers as he comes to a stop standing a few feet away from Garth, still giving him that smirk. He pushes back his long hair, still dripping water from showering and Garth can't help but follow a drop of water falling onto Stark's collarbone. "See, I've been curious about you. I knew what you are, long before Elliot told all of Panem."

Garth freezes up at this, eyes widening as he stares up at the career as a slow panic starts going through him. How could he possibly have known? Garth hasn't told anyone about this. There's no possible way Stark should know what he does. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Stark tsks at him, shaking his head a little as he sticks his hands in his pockets. "Oh come on, Garth. Don't lie to me." Stark tilts his head, starting to smirk even more as he stares down at Garth as his fear continues to build inside, yet he doesn't know how to get out of this situation without guaranteeing Stark targeting him. "Why are you afraid of me? I'm just like you…" Stark leans closer to him and Garth can't bring himself to move, petrified with fear by Stark. "If you didn't want people to know you would have covered up the marks on your chest. I have similar ones but, well, they're not in spots I can just show to everyone. But for you, well," Stark finishes with a wink at Garth and it's enough to make him finally move and take a big step back from the career.

Garth takes a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart and hates that he doesn't know if it's like that from only fear for the career. "I'm not like you. I'm doing this to help my family."

"Of course, of course," Stark shrugs at Garth, seemingly unbothered by him not wanting anything to do with him. "Isn't that how you outer Districts always are? 'I got to win to save my family! Oh, woe me!'" Stark scoffs at this and shakes his head at Garth. "Families are overrated. But who else are you sleeping with to try to get your victory? The other victor?" Stark looks him up and down, taking a step towards him and making Garth take a step back, swallowing to try and clear his dry throat. He hates the way he knows his cheeks are heating up and his heart rate is quickening, just wishing he could do something to stop his body from reacting this way. He can't help it, not after two years of doing what he does and coming to enjoy parts of it while being disgusted in himself. "You know, I could maybe help you out. More than your little ally could."

"I'm not sleeping with Tanelai," Garth says quickly, trying to ignore the way Stark is looking at him. He swallows again before starting to shake his head lightly. Come on, Garth, get it together! He's a fucking _career_ , for God's sake! "I'm good."

"Are you sure? This might be one of your last night's alive. Don't you want to have some fun?" Stark asks, once again stepping closer and Garth steps back again, until his back bumps into the railing, trapping him in front of Stark. The career gets even closer to him, leaning down a bit so he can whisper to Garth, "Come on, Garth, be a good little whore for me."

"No!" Garth shakes his head, surprised by how loud he answered him. He quickly steps back as Stark's eyes narrow at him in growing rage. "I'm not sleeping with you or Fonio or anyone else!"

"Then you can die," Stark answers coldly, all traces of flirting in his voice gone as he stares Garth down. "You and your ally you're probably fucking can both die. If you someone survive the first day, you'll be my next target after the other pitiful careers."

The panic in Garth reaches a peak and he starts running towards the elevators, tripping over his own feet in his desperation to get away from Stark. How did he manage to get one of the careers to purposely target him? He's an idiot, an absolute idiot. He migh have just doomed himself and Tanelai.

 _Damn it, Garth, why do you keep messing things up?_

Garth slams the button for the elevator, anxiously glancing back to make sure Stark isn't following him before stepping in. But before he can press the button for Nine, the anxiousness keeps building as his thoughts go to his ally… Shit, he should have told her before this happened. Is she going to abandon him now? Let him get targeted alone by Stark and have a guaranteed death?

Without really thinking, he presses the '7' and quickly is brought to his ally's floor. He nervously steps out, not even sure now if he's allowed to go here. But wouldn't they have made it clear to them on the first night if it wasn't allowed?

"Hello?" Garth nervously calls out, standing near the elevator in case he's not welcome here.

The voices coming from the next room stop talking and Garth nervously wrings his hands together in the silence. A few seconds pass before he hears footsteps heading towards him and he just hopes that it's Tanelai.

When his ally appears, surprise is all over her face as Garth tries to give her a smile that probably looks more like a grimace. "Garth? What are you doing here?"

"I…" Garth hesitates, unsure why he's even here. Does he tell her the truth? Explain everything? "Can we talk?"

"No clue what you might want to talk about," Tanelai jokes and chuckles a little, but stops when Garth doesn't start laughing too. "Sorry, I tend to joke at inappropriate times," she says, giving him a sheepish smile before growing serious. "Of course."

Tanelai waits for Garth to start and they stand there in uncomfortable silence for a minute as Garth just tries to figure out what he even wants to tell her. "It's not true," he finally blurts out, getting a raised eyebrow of surprise from Tanelai, but she doesn't speak up yet, giving him the chance to keep explaining. "Fonio just came up with the idea to help get sponsors because the Capitol loves him, which I don't understand at all."

"Hey man, we're all just trying to do whatever we can to survive," Tanelai shrugs at him, before chuckling to herself and giving Garth a teasing wink, "Just make sure you share whatever sponsor gifts you get from this with me."

"Yes, of course I will," Garth answers with a relieved sigh that she still wants to be his ally and didn't curse him out and tell him to leave like Harlow did when he found out about this. "I…I should have told you sooner but we just agreed to be allies right before your private session. And I didn't think they were going to tell _everyone_ tonight and I'm just as surprised by that as you probably are."

Tanelai waits for him to stop rambling, nodding her head and watching as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. "You didn't have to tell me and you don't owe me anything. But…" Tanelai gives him a timid smile before continuing, "I appreciate you coming to tell me now. And I wouldn't blame you for sleeping with Fonio because we all know he's hot and his swimsuit calendar sells out yearly."

Garth groans at her comment, only making her start laughing loudly at his reaction. And yet, despite his annoyance at his mentor, Garth finds himself smiling a bit in return. Her joking has helped calm him down from his panic that she would hate him and judge him for just doing what he needs to for his family to survive. "Thank you."

"For what?" Tanelai asks, scrunching her face in confusion at him.

"For not judging me," Garth answers softly, surprised in how relaxed he is now. It almost…feels good to have told her the truth. Garth pauses at this and a slow realization starts building in him, followed closely by regret… He should have just told Harlow the truth… Damn it, he's a fool.

"Welllll, I kind of already knew…" Tanelai awkwardly scratches the back of her neck as Garth just stares at her wide eyed. How did she already know? She quickly continues, clearly seeing the panic growing on his face, "Only because Stefan mentioned yesterday that he heard a rumor from the other victors when I mentioned we're now allies. But really, I promise I don't care at all! I still think you're a cool guy and still want to be allies with you."

"Thanks…I think," Garth responds and they both chuckle a little. He slowly starts smiling at her, but it soon fades when he hears someone calling Tanelai for dinner. "I should go back upstairs…" He sighs at just the thought of going up, not wanting to be near his mentor right now. Not after the announcement to everyone and then Stark trying to sleep with him. "I really don't want to."

"Well why don't you just eat dinner with us?"

"Is that even allowed?"

"I don't know," Tanelai shrugs at this. "No one has told me any rules about what we can and can't do in this building. Come on, I won't let Stefan send you back upstairs."

"You don't have to…" Garth starts to say, but stops when Tanelai just gives him a look and it's clear she's not taking no for an answer. "Okay, fine, you can at least ask."

"I'm not asking, I'm telling," Tanelai answers as she starts leading the way over to the dining room, Garth following a few feet behind her. The conversation between Stefan and their escort quickly stops when they enter and see Garth there. "Hi, this is Garth and he's joining us for dinner."

Stefan raises an eyebrow at her and Garth starts nervously fidgeting with his hands, just waiting for the victor to send him away. "I don't want to impose on you-"

"Oh why not?" Stefan interrupts, giving a shrug as he points with his fork at the empty chairs. "Probably wouldn't hurt to talk strategy with both of you. But can't say I'm really an expert here."

"You're more of an expert than me," Garth says quietly as he waits for Tanelai to sit down and takes a seat next to her, trying not to feel so awkward among the District Seven team. He finds himself staring over at Stefan, wondering what it would be like to have a mentor younger than him. But anyone would be better than Fonio… Stefan finds him looking and narrows his eyes a little, making Garth quickly glance away and clear his throat. "And, um…well, thank you."

Stefan gives a grunt at this as he grabs food, clearly not the type to make a big deal about stuff like this. Garth slowly copies him, putting stuff on his plate and trying not to feel uncomfortable. And yet, he's already more comfortable among the District Seven team than he has been with his own since stepping foot on the train.

"I think we need a toast," Tanelai says dramatically, picking up her glass of water and making Stefan roll his eyes at her before slowly picking up his glass. Tanelai looks over at Garth and wiggles her eyebrows at him until he picks up his own glass. "Here's to the coolest, awesomest, and hottest alliance that is totally going to kick butt in the arena."

"Awesomest isn't a word," Stefan retorts, getting a brief glare from Tanelai before he sighs and repeats her. "Fine, to the best alliance."

Tanelai turns her expectant gaze over to Garth and he finds himself genuinely smiling at her. Maybe he did make the right choice, at least with allies. He's at least done something right. Hopefully he can keep doing things right to get back home to his family and to apologize to Harlow…

"To the best alliance."

* * *

 **Alright here we go, the scores! Any of the scores surprise you? I'll be updating the blog with all of the scores! And of course, I had to have some spicy stuff mixed in here with Garth. _Sorry Dreamer_ (not really sorry lol). Yeah, this interaction between Garth and Stark was something I have been planning basically since I got Garth's form and saw how similar but different these two are. But which interaction did you think was the most interesting in this chapter? Do you think Garth is making a mistake or the right choice?**

 **And with this, all the alliances are set so time for a list of all of them!**

The Cool Careers - Pyrite, Pride, Ampora, Muir, Link

Flirting Royalty + The Giggling Girl - Stark, Keelin, Jinx

You Got Jinxed - Beta, Ryo, Gwenith

Going To Wreck Our Feels - Tanelai, Garth

Sweethearts - Digit, Beau

I don't have an alliance name for them - Virote, Carrie-Ann

Loners - Ander, Kilroy, Iannis, Maddie, Addae

 **RQ #17: When's the correct time to start listening to Christmas music? (anyone that knows me knows what the answer is lol. You'll still get points if your wrong, I'll just know you're wrong XD)**


	23. Interviews Part 1

**Chapter 20:**

 _Ryo Hideki, 15, District Six_

While going into the Hunger Games kind of really sucks, at least Ryo is going into it with friends. He couldn't have asked for better allies – no, friends – to be working with in the arena. Training ended up being so much fun having Beta showing him and Gwenith all sorts of cool spells and potions to try and curse the other tributes. And Gwenith is so nice and kind, latching on to him during training. He's never had someone looking up to him…but he likes it. He doesn't know what he would have done if he hadn't found allies like them. It's the one thing that's keeping him up, preventing him from slipping back down into one of his lowest points that has been looming in his head, ever since he was reaped. Surely without them, he would have fallen into one of those moods he just can't seem to get out of and has no idea why they happen…and that would mean his death, he's certain of it.

But at least for now, that's not a problem he has to worry about. He just has to focus on the interviews.

The door opens to his bedroom as his stylist is finishing up adjusting his suit, making sure the black tuxedo fits him perfectly. Bee's been hovering around, occasionally asking the stylist some not so subtle questions about the stylist's colleagues, particularly one of the District One stylists. Ryo turns his head to glance over his shoulder and lets out a short cry of pain when his neck is poked with a needle. "Ow!" He rubs the spot as the stylist sighs and removes it, letting him smile at his mentor walking over. "Hi Dampero, what do you think? Do I look ready to impress sponsors?"

"Yeah," Dampero says quietly, trying to smile at Ryo but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. He looks around the room at the team there and nervously clears his throat. "Do you think I can talk to Ryo alone?"

His stylist takes a few seconds to look over Ryo, finishing up a few stitches in the jacket before stepping back and pointing at Dampero. "Only five minutes."

"Got it," Dampero says as they leave the room. Bee glances between them, looking unsure if they should still be there, but Dampero starts before they can speak up. "Ryo, I have something important to tell you…"

"Alright, what is it?" Ryo asks as Dampero sighs and grabs a chair, pulling it over towards him. "Is it a bad thing?"

"No," Dampero says quickly, shaking his head at this to reassure Ryo. "It's just… _how_ I found out that's concerning." He stops talking to pick at his nail for a few seconds while Ryo just stares at him, waiting for him to tell him already. "Someone from the Gamemaker team – an intern, from the looks of it, had pink hair, kind of cute," Dampero cuts off at this and clears his throat as his face blushes a bit, "She uh… stopped by because she said there was important information they learned about you. She said 'He should know now rather than later' which is…"

"Concerning?" Bee offers when Dampero falls silent and he nods his head at them. "That's not good. Why would she say that right before the interviews?"

"Probably because Claudia is going to bring it up…" Dampero lets out a heavy sigh at this.

Ryo just watches the two, growing nervous as the seconds keep going by and they won't just say whatever it is already. "What is it?"

Dampero lets out another sigh, clearly uncomfortable about this, but he still meets Ryo's eyes, "They took a blood sample when you first got here, right?" Ryo nods his head, recalling someone coming through before the chariots. "They use it to check for anything health related so they can treat it before the Games start. Well…they found an imbalance of some hormones in your blood…"

"An imbalance?" Ryo questions, his face starting to scrunch in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

"Well…" Dampero starts, glancing over at the door nervously and clearly trying to push this off.

"Just tell me already," Ryo can feel himself growing impatient with his mentor, wanting to just know already what he has to say. He can't keep waiting around all night to find out and he doesn't want the first time he hears it on stage in front of the entire country.

Dampero shares a look with Bee before finally sighing and looking at Ryo. "You have Bipolar Disorder."

"Bipolar…Disorder?" Ryo questions, his face scrunching in confusion as a range of emotions quickly pass through him. But what does it even mean? And there's something wrong with him…? If this has been what's wrong with him all these years, he finally has an answer to why he's the way that he is…

"It's not a bad thing," Dampero says quickly, watching Ryo's face as his mood keeps spiraling down at the realization there's something wrong with him and he never even knew. Dampero starts rambling, something Ryo's never seen before from him, "It just means you have a hormone imbalance. Your good moods are _too_ high and your bad moods are _too_ low. And you go between these two states and can be in them for weeks, even months at a time."

"But it's a disorder!" Ryo says louder than he intended, unable to control his voice. How can he when he just found this out? "I'm just like my mother always said…not a perfect child."

"No one is perfect," Bee tells him right away, putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I know a couple people with it! It can be treated easily, the doctors just need to find the right combination to balance out your hormones. So as soon as you win, we can get you started right away!"

"Yeah, big chance of that happening…" Ryo mumbles to himself as his stylist knocks on the door again before entering once more, bringing an end to this conversation. Ryo avoids looking at his mentor as the stylist wraps things up on his outfit, really not knowing what to say to Dampero right now. How is he possibly supposed to know how to respond to this diagnosis? He's only fourteen and about to go into the Games…he doesn't need this stress on top of everything else going on…

"You're all set!" His stylist tells him cheerfully, taking a step back to look at their work.

Ryo brings his gaze over to the mirror, only half-seeing his reflection. All he can focus on is the word 'disorder' bouncing around in his head, telling him there's something wrong with him.

"Are you ready to go?" Dampero asks gently, putting a hand on Ryo's shoulder.

Ryo slowly brings his gaze over to his mentor, feeling on the verge of tears as he's reminded of the times seeing Dampero back at his home in Six with his sister. "I just want to go home," he whispers to his mentor, starting to shake his head at everything going on. "I don't want to be interviewed and I don't want to go into the Games. I'd take my mother telling me I'm not perfect any day over this."

"Hey, listen to me," Dampero places both hands on Ryo's shoulders, forcing him to look at him. "Knowing this doesn't change anything. You're still a great kid that I'm going to do whatever it takes to get home. I made a promise to your sister and I'm not breaking that. I just need you to go out there and show them the bright, kind person I've seen all the time back in Six… Can you do that?"

Ryo stares at his mentor, finding pleading eyes looking back at him. He doesn't want to let Dampero down…not after all the help he's given him and how kind he's always been to Ryo. So he slowly starts nodding his head, even if he doesn't quite feel like he can go in front of Panem and have Claudia tell them all what's wrong with him, just like her and Elliot did with that rumor about the boy from Nine yesterday. "I can try…"

"That's all we do," Dampero gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder and tries to smile at him, which Ryo slowly returns. "Now let's get you downstairs."

"Okay," Ryo softly answers him, really not sure what else to say to him. There's no way he can get around doing these interviews. At least he just has to make it through three minutes and then he's done.

Bee starts leading them out and Dampero keeps a comforting hand on Ryo's shoulder as they walk towards the elevator. "Now Claudia is definitely going to bring this up…" Dampero starts as they wait for the doors to open. He looks down at Ryo, biting his lip anxiously as he figures out what to say. "Can you try to react positively to it? Maybe a bit surprised?"

"I can try," Ryo responds as the doors open and they step on the elevator. Dampero presses the button to go to the ground floor and Ryo looks up at him. "But I'm not a very good actor."

"Neither am I," he says with a small shrug at Ryo. "I couldn't pretend that I wasn't uncomfortable on that stage. But look how I turned out." Dampero tries to give him an encouraging smile as the doors open and they are met with the muffled sounds of the crowd as they step towards the other tributes gathered. "I know even if you can't act for these few minutes, it's not going to hurt your chances. So just be you."

"I'll try," Ryo answers but he isn't sure if the crowd will like him as just himself. But Dampero gives him an encouraging smile and stops him away from the other tributes.

"You got this," Dampero tells him and Ryo just nods his head, not sure if he quite believes it. "Now they want you to stand in order, but try to talk with your allies a bit before the interviews start. Hopefully they can help take your mind off of this."

"Okay," Ryo tells him, not knowing what else to say. He's not even sure if he feels like even talking to his allies right now, as much as he gets along with them. But if that's what Dampero wants him to do…well, he'll try for him.

"Good luck," Dampero tells him with one last pat on the shoulder, leaving him to head out to where the mentors need to sit along with Bee. Ryo watches them leave, wishing they could stay with him. Once out of sight, he lets out a sigh before starting to walk over to the group of tributes all dressed up extravagantly like himself.

As he starts to walk over, Gwenith sees him and waves him over to where she stands with Beta. She bounces a bit on her feet as Ryo walks over, her blonde curls bouncing around and she can't stop moving around the poofy skirt on her pink dress. "Hi Ryo! Are you having fun getting all dressed up?"

Ryo tries to smile at her, but it's a struggle to force it. "We do look nice."

He looks over at Beta, his older ally looking so different from his messy appearance at the Reaping. His hair's been trimmed along with the scruff on his face and the gray suit he wears just makes his red hair stand out even more. He's looking down at them with gentle eyes and a small smile, even though he keeps glancing nervously over at the doors leading out to the stage. From where they stand now, the sounds of the crowd have grown much louder and several monitors are set up so they can watch what happens on the stage. When he turns back to Ryo and Gwenith, Ryo can spot the nervousness on his face. "I don't like crowds and all the noise." Beta looks towards the back of the line, past most of the tributes and his eyes narrow as he stares at someone. But when he turns back to his allies, the cold look in his eyes is replaced by the soft expression again. "I really don't like that girl."

Ryo doesn't need to look back to know exactly who Beta is talking about. There's only been one girl Beta has openly expressed his dislike towards out of the group of tributes. "But we've cursed her!" Gwenith says, bouncing on her feet and smiling at the thought of what they've done in training. "I know our curses will work!"

"Yes, they will," Beta nods his head sagely at this, yet Ryo can't bring himself right now to get enthusiastic like Gwenith about cursing Jinx and Addae. "Good thing we're all going before her so we won't have to worry about the vomit."

"Attention tributes! Please line up!"

"Here we go!" Gwenith says cheerfully, not looking the slightest bit nervous like Beta does, or anxious like Ryo feels inside. "This is going to be fun!" Gwenith says to Ryo as they start heading towards their spots away from Beta at the front.

"Yeah," Ryo answers quietly, just agreeing with her to keep her happy. They reach his spot next to Tanelai and he just gets into line, not knowing what else to say to her.

"Good luck, Ryo!" Gwenith tells him before continuing over to her spot by Garth. Ryo tries to smile at her, but once she's turned around, it quickly fades from his face. How is he going to be able to pretend for this interview?

The crowd starts to cheer louder and Ryo brings his attention over to the closest monitor, watching as Claudia walks out on the stage and waves at the gathered crowd. "Good evening, Panem!" She tells them, pausing for the crowd to cheer in response. "Tonight is my favorite night of the Games. In just a few moments, we will get to hear from all of our tributes for the 113th Hunger Games! What will we learn? Who will stand out? Let's find out! First up is Pyrite Cherno from District One!"

Pyrite takes a deep breath for a moment, straightening out the long draping sleeves attached to their red jumpsuit covered in sequined patterns. The career quickly heads out onto the stage, head held high as they grin and wave out at the crowd just like they did during the chariot rides. Pyrite looks right in their element as they shake hands with Claudia before turning back to the crowd and motioning for them to cheer louder. They laugh cheerfully at the response before sitting down with Claudia. Ryo wishes he had their confidence right now…

"Pyrite! It's lovely to have such an enthusiastic tribute starting out the interviews!"

"Well this is the biggest performance of my life so far!" Pyrite responds cheerfully, still grinning at Claudia. "It certainly won't be the last, but those performances will hopefully be on the stages of the Capitol theaters! But you have to start out somewhere and the Games certainly are a good stepping stone for that."

Claudia keeps talking about the theater and Pyrite opens up about their dream of performance, along with how they joined a theater group and that helped them become the person they are today. Pyrite is just so comfortable on the stage, giving off a positive vibe that the crowd loves but Ryo resents a little, knowing he won't ever be able to achieve that for his interview.

"Okay Pyrite, one last question: what's one last thing you would like to say?" Claudia asks them.

Pyrite considers this for a moment before turning towards one of the cameras. "I hope you're all proud of me at home. And Dad, I hope you see this and are proud too. Oh and Mica, stop being such an angsty teenager."

The crowd laughs at their comment, but Ryo doesn't find amusement in it. Not when he just knows he won't be as confident and friendly as them.

"Pyrite Cherno, everyone!" Claudia says and they wave at the crowd as they cheer for them as they head towards their seat on the back of the stage. "Next up is their District partner, Pride Flourish!"

Ryo turns away as Pride takes the stage to relatively loud cheers from the crowd, wishing he was up sooner than halfway through the interviews. He just wants to get this over with already, yet he still doesn't know what he's going to say. He's not charming like Pyrite was, clearly comfortable up on stage. He doesn't have the confidence of careers, even reaped ones like Pride. But he can't let down Dampero. He'd feel worse about that than disappointing his parents.

He's just a sad, pathetic boy.

"And what's one last thing you'd like to say?"

Ryo glances back at the monitor at this, not realizing Pride's interview is already almost over, getting too caught up in his pitiful thoughts. "Don't underestimate me just for being reaped. There's a reason I got that seven in training."

Unsurprisingly, the crowd likes the confidence from him and cheer for him as he goes to take his spot next to Pyrite. Claudia is still just as enthusiastic about the interviews as she brings out the first tribute from the next career District. "Next up we have District Two's Ampora Erikson!"

The tall girl yanks up her multicolor skirt as she heads out, heels making her even taller. She has a fiery look on her face as she walks out onto the stage, looking exactly like she belongs on that stage. And Ryo supposes she does since she was picked to be here. "Welcome Ampora!" Claudia says to her as Ampora takes her seat, not waving at the crowd like the previous two tributes but still captivating them just as much.

Claudia starts asking her questions about the Games and being who she is, brings up a topic that most people would flinch away from. "So I heard you're not the first person in your family to volunteer for the Games."

A brief hint of sadness flashes Ampora's face, but quickly replaced by her fiery determination again. "Yeah, my brother Pharos was in the 108th Games. But I'm not going to lose like him. I'm going to win because I have to win for Christina."

Ampora keeps talking about the girl she volunteered for, barely allowing Claudia to ask her any other questions. It's clear Ampora is completely devoted to her. "Okay," she interrupts towards the end, "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Christina, I'm winning for you, baby."

The crowd applauds her, seemingly not realizing how weird it is that she volunteered to win for a girl that she isn't even dating yet. But it doesn't matter to them, not when Ampora is promising to play their game. "And let's bring out Stark Calloway next!"

The career that spent most of training being angry and scrambling for allies saunters out, looking as confident as can be and giving the crowd a flirty smirk as he winks at them. Some scream a bit more at this, only making Ryo feel worse about how he isn't going to impress them. "Hello Claudia, you're looking lovely tonight," Stark says before Claudia can start.

"Well thank you, Stark," Claudia responds, clearly falling for the flattery. "But we're here to talk about you, not me. Now I'm curious. What do you think about getting the lowest score compared to the other volunteers?"

Stark's smirk falters, but he doesn't let it completely disappear, even if he's clearly struggling to keep it together. "That will be irrelevant. Wouldn't surprise me if it was all just to stir up drama since the Gamemakers know that there are some… _differences_ …between us."

"Oh do tell."

Stark gladly starts talking about the career drama, of course framing it to make himself look better and the others worse. And when it's time for the last question Claudia is asking everyone, Stark seems to direct his answer at the other careers. "Have fun dying in that arena. You're going to regret your choices tomorrow morning when the gong rings."

The crowd gets excited at the promise of drama. Ryo doesn't have any drama to give them… They're never going to remember him compared to the careers…

"Let's bring out Digit Estrada from District Three!" Claudia says and the girl nervously walks out, doing her best to give them a kind smile and try to be brave.

They start with Claudia asking the question they've all been wondering: why did this girl volunteer? Digit tells them she volunteered for her parents and a bit of pressing from Claudia gets her to reveal how her great grandfather was a victor before the Victor's Purge after the 75th Hunger Games. It's immediately something that makes her more interesting to the crowd, something Ryo doesn't have.

Digit considers her answer to Claudia's final question for a few seconds before clearing her throat and trying to be as brave as possible. "I hope you're proud of me and I don't disappoint you…"

Ryo frowns a bit at the thought of disappointing parents, knowing that's something he's done too often. But before he can frown too much, it's Beta's turn to be interviewed and he's distracted by someone cheering from behind him. "Go Beta!"

Beta turns back at Gwenith cheering for him, looking pleasantly surprised by her supporting him, and when he looks at Ryo, he does his best to smile supportively at his ally. "You've got this."

Beta smiles at them before heading out onto the stage, still looking a bit nervous but less so than he did before going out on stage. Claudia sees the nervousness and starts out slowly, getting him to come out of his shell and not be nervous in front of the crowd. "So Beta, why don't you tell us a bit about your family?"

Beta blinks at her a few times before answering her, "My family hasn't been whole in years but I'm trying to fix that."

"What do you mean?" Claudia asks, her confusion making her smile falter just a bit.

"My sister Copper died eight years ago and I'm using magic to bring her back."

Beta's met with silence by the crowd and the host stares at him, eyebrows raised high. Even Ryo is a bit surprised that Beta is so open about talking about this. Beta just keeps talking, explaining everything that happened and leaving nothing a secret. He talks all about his sister's sudden illness and death, how not even his father's apothecary stuff could save her, so he started trying to figure out how to get her ghost to inhabit another person. He brings up his friend Tracer, talking about how they help him with spells and are his best friend.

Claudia just simply stares at Beta as he talks, waiting until he falls quiet to catch his breath to speak up again. "Well I did not expect that kind of response…" she says and some in the crowd laugh at this. Beta awkwardly smiles out at them, seemingly hoping that they're laughing with him. But Ryo can just tell from their faces that it's the opposite…his poor ally doesn't deserve to be laughed at for what he believes in. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yes," Beta nods his head sagely, suddenly looking way more mature as he turns to one of the cameras. "Tracer, if for some reason I don't come back…make sure you get Copper back. She can help you bring me back."

Claudia keeps staring at Beta as the buzzer sounds and the crowd gives subdued applause, the least they've given so far, making Ryo mad that they are treating him that way. That's not what Beta deserves…is this how they'll treat him? "Thank you, Beta, for that…riveting interview." She clears her throat as Beta stands up to take his seat before smiling out at the crowd, quickly moving on. "Let's bring out District Four's Muir Barak next!"

The girl is probably the least confident of the careers so far, but she keeps a polite smile on her face and she gives a small nervous wave at the crowd as she walks out onto the stage and takes her seat next to Claudia. "Welcome, Muir. Now we've heard a bit from your allies and we know you scored well. But I want to know what it is that you're fighting for? Perhaps family back home?"

Muir's smile instantly disappears at this question as a smug look appears on Claudia's face, knowing she asked a question Muir doesn't want to answer. "Just my aunt…" Muir says slowly, clearly trying to keep her face neutral. "My mother passed away two years ago and…my father is…he hasn't been around much."

"Oh, very sad," Claudia says but doesn't sound too sad as she asks some more about Muir's family situation, ignoring how uncomfortable Muir is by it before getting into why Muir volunteered. Muir starts smiling fondly as she recalls her mother encouraging her to train so she can be strong like their female victors in Four and make a better life for herself.

When it's time to answer Claudia's final question, Muir seems to know exactly what she wants to say and looks down at her hands as she gives her answer. "Mom, I'm going to make you proud. You always wanted to see me get crowned as victor and while you might not be here, I know you're watching over me. And Dad, if you're watching…I'll make you proud too."

There's a somber silence over the crowd at this but when the buzzer sounds, they give her just as much applause as they did the other careers. "And let's bring out Muir's District partner, Lincoln Bashara!"

The other reaped career takes his time walking out, staring down at his feet as he carefully tries to walk over to Claudia without tripping. Once he reaches her, he shakes her hand before slowly sitting down, letting out a loud sigh of relief when he's seated without anything bad happening. The crowd laughs at his reaction and he gives a nervous smile at them. "So Link, how about we start by how you got that scar that-"

Claudia is cut off by the crowd screaming at Link in the process of taking out his wooden eye. He pauses with the eye raised near his face, looking embarrassed as Claudia is grossed out. "Shit, Amelia told me not to do that." He puts the wooden eye back in, but Claudia still looks uneasy by him. "It's a habit of mine to do that all the time."

"Right…" Claudia says, grimacing just a little bit at him. "How about you tell us how that happened while keeping it in your eye socket?"

Link starts to sheepishly tell the story of the training accident, also going into how he is just a really unlucky person. He even calls himself the universe's butt monkey, making the crowd laugh loudly, which seems to confuse him but he just rolls with it. When time to answer the final question, Link just sighs heavily as he looks over at a camera. "You know Soren, you really should have been here instead of me. But I suppose I'll try my best to win despite my bad lot of luck I've been given."

The crowd gives confused applause at him and as Link stands up, his eyes immediately widen before he quickly sits back down, covering up his backside. "What are you doing?" Claudia whispers to him, her voice being picked up on her microphone.

"My pants just ripped," Link whispers back, his voice carrying out to all of Panem and making the crowd start laughing hysterically at him. Link slowly turns bright red in embarrassment as crew comes out to help him. He shrugs off his jacket and puts it around his waist before getting led off stage to have his pants fixed.

"Well then," Claudia says to the crowd, clearly unsure how to even react right now. "How about we move on to District Five? Keelin Varela is up first!"

Ryo grows anxious as he watches the girl from Five head out onto the stage, waving at the crowd and even blowing a couple kisses at them. Now that they're at District Five, they're so close to his turn and he's realizing he isn't ready for this, even though he wants it to be over. "Hi Claudia, how are you doing?" Keelin asks, tone light and happy as she sits next to the host.

"Wonderful, I get to hear all sorts of exciting things about the tributes tonight," Claudia responds, a mischievous smile on her face. "Speaking of, I heard you have a rather interesting ally tonight. Care to tell about that?"

"Sure," Keelin answers with a flirty laugh, even flipping her hair over her shoulder as she smiles out at the crowd. "I'm allied with the best career this year, the only one that didn't decide they would rather stick with untrained tributes than a well-trained volunteer like themselves. So Stark and I are going to show them how wrong they were."

The crowd cheers at her fighting words as the cameras pan to the faces of the careers, showing various reactions from them. Pyrite and Muir don't look too bothered by her comment, while Pride and Ampora having varying levels of annoyance. Stark, of course, is smiling smugly out at the crowd. And Link is still backstage, getting his pants repaired.

Once Claudia gets the crowd to quiet down, she starts asking Keelin about life back in District Five and she starts talking about her girlfriend Nira and how she proposed to her, but didn't get to hear the response before she left the Reaping. This makes the crowd call for an answer and Claudia tells Keelin she has to make it to the final eight so she can interview Nira.

Keelin's final statement is unsurprisingly directed out at Nira. "Nira, I'm going to win this and we are going to have the best damn wedding once I'm home. I promise."

Keelin gets a moderate amount of applause from the crowd, probably thanks to her alliance with Stark, and takes her seat. Before her District partner Virote heads out, Link goes to his seat, pants newly repaired. The crowd cheers for him, making his face flush and he trips over one of the chairs, falling right into Stark who shoves him away from him, turning the cheers into loud laughter.

When Virote takes the stage after that, there's not much he can do to get the crowd to pay attention to him. He's quiet and nervous as he answers Claudia's questions, fidgeting with his hands and avoiding eye contact with her. He talks a bit about his home life, his parents and sister, how he's been tutored at home for the past few years. It helps to slowly get him more comfortable at being interviewed, but still, he's not really impressing the crowd and Ryo just worries he'll be the same way. What does he have to offer that's any bit interesting?

His final statement is kept calm and clear of emotions, "I'll do what I have to in the arena to win. It's just what has to be done."

As Virote gets very little applause, Carrie-Ann is called out and leaves the spot in front of him, making Ryo's heart start racing nervously. He hasn't figured out what he's going to say at all to Claudia when she inevitably brings up Ryo's diagnosis. He doesn't even know what to say for the one last thing she asks him about.

Ryo can barely focus on his District partner as she tries to be driven and determined, answering Claudia's questions without batting an eye and turning the questions back around, making subtle comments at the Capitol. She's so much more confident than Ryo feels right now…how is he supposed to go up after her? He'll never get any sponsors from this interview and he's going to let down all of his allies. They won't want to be with him after this. He's going to completely ruin things and just live up to what his mother always says to him. He'll never be good enough.

"What's one last thing you would like to say?"

Ryo tenses up at Carrie-Ann's last question, knowing it means it's nearly his turn. "When I get home, well, you all can kiss my ass for never thinking I was good enough."

"Thank you, Carrie-Ann!" Claudia says as the buzzer goes off and she goes over to her seat to applause, more than Virote received. Ryo can feel his palms growing sweaty as the crowd quiets down. He doesn't want to go out onto the stage. Can he just skip the interview? He's fine with missing out on the opportunity for sponsors. He just doesn't want to go out in front of the crowd and say something wrong. "Next up we have her District partner, Ryo Hideki!"

"Go Ryo!" Gwenith calls out to him and her nervously glances back at her, getting a big smile from her and a thumbs up. He smiles a bit at her cheering him on and it temporarily calms just a bit of his nerves to give him the courage to walk out onto the stage.

The cheers of the crowd overwhelm him at first and he blinks a few times against the blinding lights as he tries to focus on Claudia. When he reaches the host, he wipes his hand on his pants before shaking her hand. "Welcome, Ryo," she says as he sits down next to her.

"He-hello," he nervously responds, glancing out at the large crowd gathered there. So many bright and colorful faces stare up at him, waiting to see what he has to say.

"So Ryo, can you tell us a bit about your family?" Claudia asks him, bringing his attention back over to her. It's such a standard question from her and he knows it's to help make him less nervous, but it doesn't really help much. "I heard you actually knew Dampero before the Reaping!"

"Yeah, I did," Ryo says quietly, trying to look out into the crowd to find his mentor. He wishes he could have Dampero by him right now. He just always helps Ryo out… "He's friends with my older sister Odani and has been for years. And then there's just my parents."

"Not all of us can say we're lucky enough to know a victor like that!" Claudia responds and a few in the crowd agree with her statement.

Ryo slowly starts to relax a bit, staring at the host instead of the crowd, and he smiles just a little bit at her. "Yeah, I knew him back when he was an awkward teenager."

The crowd laughs a lot at this as the cameras all turn towards his mentor, finding him blushing and trying to keep his head down. Ryo briefly feels bad for putting all the attention on his mentor, knowing he doesn't like the crowds, but when Ryo looks over at Dampero, his mentor nods his head for him to keep going.

"Oh we all had those days," Claudia says with a chuckle as Ryo brings his attention back over to her. "Now speaking of being in the teenage years," Claudia starts, growing serious and Ryo tenses up, having a terrible feeling about where she's going with this. "The Gamemakers have informed me of something about you, something that you might not know about."

"Please don't," Ryo says quietly, his voice wavering as he shakes his head at the host. He doesn't want the whole country to know there's something wrong with him and to judge him for something he can't control. He doesn't want his parents to know and give them more reason to believe he'll never be their perfect child. He'll never be as good as Odani and surely winning the Games wouldn't even help him there. "Please don't tell them what's wrong with me."

Claudia stares at Ryo in the silence before her gaze turns behind him. He turns around, finding her looking at someone offstage as the talk into a headset to her. "Very well…" Claudia says awkwardly and Ryo turns back around to look at her, not trusting her to not say something. Why wouldn't she tell everyone? They would all think it's drama, ignoring the fact that it's impacting his life. They don't care that he's just a kid about to go fight to the death and had information thrown at him that's impacted how he views himself and what he's done. "Well…we're running short on time. So what's one last thing you would like to say?"

Ryo still has no idea what he wants to say to the crowd or his family. This might be his last chance to publicly say something to them, yet he has no clue. Why can't he come up with words easily to say to them? Why is he such a failure? Ryo can feel his eyes prickling with tears as self-pity slowly makes him want to just curl up in a ball. Yet he turns towards one of the cameras, unable to stop himself from addressing his parents. "I'm sorry for always being a failure. I'm trying, I really am…"

Ryo sits back in his chair after that, waiting in silence for a few seconds until the buzzer goes off. The crowd gives him some small applause as he stands up with Claudia, but he knows he failed his interview. No one is going to want to sponsor him. "Ryo Hideki, everyone," Claudia says before Ryo starts walking towards the back of the stage and his seat, keeping his eyes down to avoid looking at people. He doesn't want to see the smug looks on the careers' faces at him being pitiful. He doesn't want to see the others thinking he'll be an easy target if they were to run into anyone. But he really doesn't want to see his ally looking disappointed in him.

When he takes his seat, the crowd is already waiting for the next tribute, and Ryo can barely look at them. He just stares down at his hands, waiting for it to all be over.

If he couldn't even get through an interview, how is he going to make it through the Games?

* * *

 **First update of 2019, let's go! So here we have the first half (well, technically one more than half but oh well) of the interviews! Honestly this chapter wasn't originally going to be this angsty but I can't help but make things angsty, apparently lol. But oh well, here we are and poor Ryo had to find this out right before the Games... Just to clarify so no one thinks otherwise, I know that there is nothing wrong with having bipolar disorder but Ryo is a teen boy who doesn't know what this means and has always been told he's not good enough so that's why he reacts this way. He was supposed to have a happy response at first to knowing but, well...it's me.**

 **So thoughts on the interviews? Did you like the format I did? I wanted to show everyone, but obviously the featured tributes were shown more than the non-featured. Was it balanced well? Hopefully it was because I already have the next chapter written and don't want to rewrite it lol. Who stood out the most?**

 **RQ #18: Hmm...if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you pick? I'd probably go with pizza but tacos and cheeseburgers are tied for second.**

 **Alright next up we're going to see Addae for the second half of the interviews! I'm aiming for that to be up in two weeks, assuming I get my butt moving with writing D9 of Senseless in the meantime. See you then!**


	24. Interviews Part 2

**Chapter 21:**

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District Eleven_

Addae is growing antsy as the interviews keep moving along, knowing he has to keep waiting until his turn. Having to wait until the very last interview is…not ideal, but there isn't much he can do about it. Waiting in line, it's taken a lot in him to not try to talk to some of the innocent ones. Everything in him wants to help those that need help, it's simply how he was raised. And yet, he can't. He has to focus on himself if he is to break the curse.

And he's sure the curse is centered in the Capitol, but he just can't figure out how to break it yet. He needs more time here than he was given before the Games start. Time that he would have available as a victor… Addae is not looking forward to taking a life. It goes against everything he's been raised to believe, really valuing life and the energy each living creature has. But if it will let him stop the Games and prevent more lives from ending… It's not what he wants to do, but what he has to do.

He watches the boy from Six take his seat, forcing down his pity and desire to help him. Ryo made his choice by choosing to ally with the cursed child. Addae's fist clenches around his beaded necklace at the thought of the cursed child, refusing to even think his name. He has to stop him from cursing anyone else. And he _especially_ cannot let him curse Addae's family. But surely they are protected. Grandmother has made sure to place protection charms all around the house.

"Alright Panem, let's bring out the first tribute from District Seven!" Claudia says, getting the crowd excited once more after Ryo's poor interview. Addae watches the girl from Seven try to calm herself down by giving herself a little pep talk and he wants to comfort her. But he stays put, letting herself deal with this on her own. "Tanelai Dorvet!"

Tanelai smooths out her green skirt and tugs on her long sleeves before taking a deep breath and walking out onto the stage. She tries to force herself to smile at the crowd, but her nervousness is clear. Claudia welcomes her and wastes no time jumping into drama. "Alright Tanelai, I've heard you have an ally."

"Yes," Tanelai says quietly, nodding her head as she glances nervously at the crowd. "Garth."

"We're all curious," Claudia continues, leaning forward to get closer to Tanelai. "What do you think of that rumor about him?"

Tanelai's smile falters and she glances around nervously, clearly not sure how to react. "Well that's his, uh…own damn business. He's an adult and can sleep with anyone he wants, just like you can do the same, but you don't have anyone questioning you about it."

Tanelai and Claudia both start flushing at what she said, the tribute out of embarrassment that she said that and Claudia over the implications. Addae cracks a small smile at Tanelai sticking up for Garth and glances over at him as Claudia tries to get the conversation off of herself. Garth stares at one of the monitors intensely to watch how his ally does. He fidgets with his hands in front of him as he stares at Tanelai and Claudia, face full of worry that they'll keep talking about him.

But they don't, instead turning to Tanelai's life back in Seven. She ends up blurting out a story about getting tased on accident and the crowd is laughing along with her, making her visibly relax. When Claudia asks her one last thing she wants to say, she smiles sheepishly at one of the cameras. "Uh…yeah parents, that kind of happened recently – but I was going to tell you when I got home! And Daram…" her smile turns warm at the name before she continues, "Stop worrying so much about me. I'm doing my very best and I'm going to get back home to you."

The crowd gives a much better response to her than to Ryo, making Addae a bit happy to see one of the cursed child's allies do poorly. Yet…he struggles with the thought, knowing Ryo and Gwenith have just been corrupted by Be- the cursed child. More innocents caught up in the curse.

Addae lets go of the beaded necklace and stands up straighter as Ander is called out, knowing he has more reason now to make sure he wins. Seeing these children first hand that are sent to the Hunger Games…he has to stop this.

Ander does his best with his interview, but he's clearly not as liked as Tanelai was by the crowd. He just doesn't have the charisma to be making jokes or being all friendly with Claudia. He tries his best to be determined as he talks about winning to get home for his twin brother, but anyone could see through him. He's faking his determination just like most of the younger ones. How could any of them actually be confident when going against older tributes that have trained for this?

Ander hesitates with one last thing to say, giving a hint of how he's just trying to keep it together for the interview. "Koa…No matter what I might do, I'm still your brother and I'm doing it for you."

Ander only manages to get a small amount of applause from the crowd. But it's clear they're all waiting to hear from the next tribute. Addae has stayed away from her, knowing before that she is one to stay away from and that was just confirmed when the Gamemakers gave her a score labeling her as a threat and a target.

"Okay we've been waiting for a while now for this," Claudia says to the crowd, getting them to calm down their excited whispers. "Let's bring out the woman with the highest score this year, Luciana Kilroy from District Eight!"

The girl stomps out, her heels loud as she fights against her jumpsuit's cape. She's met with thunderous applause as she's brought out onto the stage, only making her scowl deepen as she glares out at them. She sits down, refusing to shake Claudia's hand, but the host doesn't seem bothered by this at all. "Alright, Luciana-"

"It's Kilroy," she interrupts the host, voice showing just how much she dislikes this. "But I'm sure you were told to call me Luciana just to piss me off. Well guess what," Kilroy turns to look up at where the Gamemakers sit so she can yell at them, "I've been pissed off ever since you picked me!"

Claudia stays composed at this, laughing at Kilroy's reaction, only making the girl grow angrier. "You have a fire in you! No wonder you got that 11 in training!"

"Or they did it to target me," Kilroy grumbles as she crosses her arms, giving another glare up at the Gamemakers.

Claudia tries to keep the interviews on track, but Kilroy keeps giving short angry answers and taking every opportunity to trash talk the Gamemakers.

"Is she trying to get herself killed?" Beau asks as he watches her, asking the question to the people around him.

"The Gamemakers don't give that score to just anyone outside of the careers," Garth answers him, shaking his head and looking uneasy about Kilroy. "They probably already want her dead. Who can say why?"

"Because she has been cursed," Addae speaks up, one of the first times he's spoken since they have all been lined up down here. All the remaining tributes look over at him at this. He doesn't look away from them and his cold gaze makes Garth and Beau look away quickly. Iannis turns back to the screens when Kilroy is asked for her last statement. Maddie looks back at him with blank eyes, her shoulders rising rapidly as she waits her turn.

But Jinx starts giggling at Addae's statement, making him clutch his necklace and its protection charms once more. He still has not managed to figure out if her soul is good or not, and it concerns him that he can't figure her out. He's normally able to figure this out so easily under the guidance of the spirits.

He tunes back in to Kilroy's interview, hoping tonight will give him some last clear thoughts about the tributes. "You can try to take me down and you might succeed, but I am not going down without a fight. I promise that."

Despite her clear anger towards the Capitol, the crowd still loves her and cheers for her as she stomps off to her seat. Addae watches her carefully, wondering if she will do anything drastic. Well, more drastic than her outburst has already been. But she stays quiet, simply glaring out at the crowd as their applause dies down. "Okay let's bring out Luciana's District partner, Iannis Lyam!"

Iannis heads out to polite obligatory applause, yet he doesn't seem bothered by this. He still smiles and waves out at them and takes his spot. When Claudia starts asking him about life in Eight, she quickly loses control of the interview as Iannis just starts talking away of wild stories. Addae believes a bit of what Iannis talks about, mainly about fighting off evil creatures in Eight, but he just cannot believe that time portals exist. That pushes his belief of the supernatural. But he can tell Iannis has a good heart and he almost considers if he should have been allies with him… No, it is too late for that. He made his choice to stay alone, even if he would prefer having some trustworthy allies with him. He is already struggling against the urge to help out the innocents in the Games and being allies with someone will just make it worse.

Claudia has to try a couple times to get Iannis to stop talking so she can ask him if there's one final thing he would like to say. Iannis jumps up from his chair and points at one of the cameras before shouting, "The Scarf Ninja will return to District Eight!" He sits back down and keeps talking away to his friends back home, still going after the buzzer sounds and leaving Claudia to motion him away.

"Okay!" Claudia says, trying to bring back in the crowd laughing at Iannis' bizarre interview. "We're on to District Nine and first up is Gwenith Fornwalt!"

The girl doesn't have anyone to cheer for her like she did for her two allies and looks a bit disappointed by this. But Addae certainly won't be the one to do that. Not after she's allied with the cursed child. But Jinx starts giggling and calls out to her, "Good luck!" Gwenith starts grinning at this until Jinx keeps going, still giggling, "Break a leg out there! Maybe Beta can help you fix it tonight!"

At that, Gwenith all but runs out onto the stage, looking a bit panicked thanks to Jinx. Addae doesn't know what to make of this, knowing Jinx did this to the cursed child's ally, but also to an innocent corrupted… But Gwenith doesn't seem phased for long as Claudia greets her with a smile dripping in falseness, yet the young girl doesn't realize it. "Hello, Gwenith."

"Hi Claudia! Your hair is really pretty – oh! It matches my dress!" Gwenith grabs on to the poofy skirt, glancing between it and Claudia's hair. "I wish I had pretty pink hair!"

Claudia is able to get the interview on track and gets some information about Gwenith's home life, finding out that she grew up in an adopted home, far on the outskirts of Nine. She grew up thinking the Games were to punish bad people and explains that she doesn't know why she was sent in, making Addae push away whatever qualms he has about the cursed child. Gwenith truly is an innocent in these Games and he has to try and help her.

When she's asked to say one last thing, she smiles over at one of the cameras, but falters for a moment. "Mom, I made some friends here! They've taught me really cool stuff and I don't believe that they're bad people. They're going to help me get home!"

The crowd doesn't quite seem to know how to react to her but Addae knows he has to try and get her away from the cursed child. He can't let her keep getting corrupted because she's so innocent.

"Okay," Claudia says once Gwenith is in her seat. "Let's bring out the man we've been waiting to hear from, Garth Rycroft!"

Addae has no doubt what Claudia wants to ask him about and Garth knows too, judging by how he wrings his hands together nervously as he goes out on the stage. He tries to smile at the crowd, but his nervousness makes it look more like a grimace. As soon as he's sitting, Claudia wastes no time in getting started. "So Garth."

"Yes?" Garth asks nervously, trying not to look like he knows exactly what she's going to bring up.

"Come on, you gotta tell us," Claudia presses but Garth keep looking at her innocently, still forcing the smile. "Is it true?"

Garth looks out nervously at the crowd before turning back to Claudia, struggling to figure out his response. "Rumors are just rumors."

"Ah denial, sounds like confirmation to me!" Claudia winks out at the crowd and they cheer at this, only making poor Garth start flushing in embarrassment. "It's okay, no judgement here. So why did you do it? Aside from the obvious answer of Fonio being attractive."

"I…" Garth hesitates, trying to find the words to say as everyone is waiting for him to give any hint that the rumor is true. "I'll do whatever to protect my family."

Claudia goes with the topic change, asking him questions about his family that makes Garth visibly start to relax as he talks about them. He's still careful with his responses, but he opens up about how his grandfather can't work so Garth has stepped in to help out and keep his siblings from taking tesserae. It's a noble thing to do and Addae's respect grows for him. But when Claudia asks him if he has anyone back home, Garth freezes up, not even fidgeting with his hands anymore.

The seconds tick on in silence before Garth finally looks around, his gazing landing on one of the cameras. He stares at it for a few seconds, almost looking like he has something to say, before finally turning back to Claudia and sighing, "No, I don't think they want anything to do with me anymore after what I've done…"

"You don't know that for sure," Claudia tells him, but it doesn't seem like she'll get him to believe otherwise. "Well you have the chance now to say one last thing."

Garth takes a deep breath, looking back out at one of the cameras, and shakes his head before speaking quietly. "It's not true. Please…I don't blame you if you don't believe me, but please trust me. It's all to get back home to you."

The crowd is silent after that but when the buzzer sounds, they give him a large amount of applause. He goes to his seat, briefly meeting Tanelai's eyes and getting a small smile from her.

"Well then! We're getting close to wrapping up the interviews," Claudia says cheerfully, seemingly unaware of Garth's plea to whoever back home. "And now we get to hear from one of our other volunteers. From District Ten, let's welcome Jinx Holiday!"

Addae watches the giggling girl head out onto the stage carefully, still trying to figure her out. She's nervous, but not the same kind of nervous as Garth. No, her nervousness doesn't seem driven by the crowd in front of her. As she sits down in her chair, her yellow lace dress poofs up around her, making her giggle a little bit at this. "Welcome, Jinx! Now you've been another one we've all been curious about."

"Why is that?" Jinx asks with a nervous giggle, glancing around the stage a bit at the people watching. "I'm not really that exciting of a person. Well, Sally says that I'm a good girl."

"We've all been curious why you volunteered."

"Oh!" Jinx says before giggling a bunch. Claudia is started to get creeped out by the giggling as Jinx sits there, not answer Claudia until the host motions for her to answer. "I volunteered for Sally!"

Claudia keeps the smile on her face as Jinx keeps giggling and starts swinging her feet in her chair. "And who is Sally?"

"Sally's my best friend!" Jinx says cheerfully, grinning up at Claudia and still laughing. She keeps talking about Sally and how they're friends and she likes to play board games with her. She keeps mentioning how Sally always calls her a good girl and how that makes her so happy. "I still like her even though she was talking to this boy-" Jinx cuts off with a nervous giggle, looking around at the cameras nervously as Claudia raises an eyebrow at her.

"A boy?" Claudia asks curiously and Jinx rapidly shakes her head at the host, her short curled hair smacking her in the face. She picks a couple of pieces out of her shining lips as she keeps giggling, the laughter growing in volume as panic builds in her eyes. "What boy?"

"No boy!" Jinx giggles as she keeps shaking her head at the host. "There's no boy! Nope, none at all! It's just me and Sally."

Claudia doesn't quite believe this, but they're running out of time, saving Jinx from being questioned further by her. "Alright…we have time for you to say one last thing."

Jinx giggles some more as she turns in her chair to face one of the cameras. She waves at it cheerfully, "Hi Sally! I'm being a good girl here just like I promised! Well, Beta doesn't like me for some reason, he says something about how I'm in his head. He said being in his head is bad, but messing with him is good! I'll get home to you!"

The buzzer sounds and Jinx gets a moderate amount of applause, the crowd clearly not knowing how to react to her. She skips off to her seat, still giggling. She waves over at the cursed child, making him cover up his ears as he glares over at her. Addae holds in a chuckle at the interaction, glad to see someone making him uncomfortable. It's what he deserves.

"Okay, three more to go!" Claudia says to the crowd that's starting to grow a bit restless. "Next up is Beau Cheshire!"

The boy from Ten heads out onto the stage, looking as easygoing as he's seemed all of training. But there's a hint of nerves to him as he glances up and squints against the bright lights shining down on him. He starts talking easily to Claudia, clearly one of those people that just has an easy confidence to them. Claudia brings up his family, trying to get some more information about the boy. He talks easily about living on a sheep ranch and describing his tasks with processing the wool. But when Claudia asks him if there's anyone special back home, he tenses up and stumbles over his words a bit, refusing to tell Claudia anything specific. And Addae doesn't blame him. It's an intrusive question to ask someone, especially if they don't like talking about those sorts of things.

Addae starts to notice how heavily Maddie is breathing in front of him and he almost puts a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, but stops when he realizes it might spook her. Instead, he clears his throat and she looks over at him, eyes as wide as can be in fear. "Are you alright?"

"I-I-I ca-can't-" she stutters out and shakes her head, struggling to find words. "I can't g-go out there."

"I don't think you have a choice," Addae tells her, pitying the poor girl who looks on the verge of tears.

"They'll make fun of me," Maddie whispers, shutting her eyes and trying to block out the interview happening on stage. They've reached the final question, meaning she doesn't have long until it's her turn. "People always make fun of my face."

"Well," Beau says on stage as Addae tries to figure out how to respond to Maddie. She doesn't deserve to be made fun of for a few marks on her face that are lighter in color than the rest of her. "I'd say that I'm going to give it my best shot. That's all I can do, right?"

"They won't make fun of you," Addae says right before the buzzer goes off, making Maddie start shaking her head repeatedly as she stares up at the monitors. "Look at how weird they dress here. Who are they to judge?"

"We have reached our final District!" Claudia says and the crowd cheers at this, but no doubt they're cheering because they're nearly done. "First up is Maddelena Sallow!"

Maddie stays rooted in her spot and Addae's heart pities her. "You can do this. You have to."

"Please," Maddie gasps out, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "Don't make me."

"I'm not…" Addae trails off as Peacekeepers step forward to try and bring her out onto the stage. She tries to slip away from them but they keep a tight grip on her arm, only making her start sobbing louder as she keeps pleading with them to put her down. Addae clutches his necklace tightly as he watches in horror as Claudia tries to start the interview, but Maddie just shakes in her seat, unable to focus on anything as she stares around at the crowd in front of her through tear stained eyes.

It's horrible to watch… Claudia keeps trying to ask Maddie questions for half a minute before realizing that she won't get Maddie to say anything. The host motions to cut the cameras and a crew member steps on stage, bringing the sobbing girl off the stage.

The crowd watches this all happen, no one doing anything to help the poor girl. Well, Addae can see one person pushing through the crowd towards the stage. He watches his mentor push forward, trying to get to Maddie, and Addae lets out a sigh of relief that his District's only victor is someone who actually cares.

But the cameras are soon turned back on and Addae realizes that it's his turn. He's all alone backstage now, left alone to end the interviews. He can only hope he does enough to get some support, or at the very least not make the Gamemakers target him.

"Sorry for the interruption," Claudia says, grin still on her face and looking completely unbothered by Maddie's panic attack on stage. It only makes him dislike the Capitol even more and absolutely certain that right here is the origin of the curse. "We'll be continuing on with our very last interview of the night, District Eleven's Addae Trillions!"

Addae takes a deep breath and lets go of his necklace before walking out onto the stage, met with mild applause from the crowd. He doesn't try to pretend to be cheerful towards them, instead keeping a neutral gaze as he takes his seat. Claudia puts out a hand towards him to shake and he stares down at it for a few seconds, not wanting to shake the hand of someone who cared so little about Maddie. Claudia finally brings back her hand, laughing a bit and pointing at him as she looks out at the crowd. "We got a tough guy here! But we could tell that from just looking at you. Now there's got to be a reason why you volunteered."

"There is," Addae responds coolly, keeping his tone neutral to not upset the people in charge. But a deep anger is building in him, directed at the ones that have placed the curse on Panem and taken the lives away from so many innocents. He looks around at the people surrounding them, the higher ups sitting in balconies overlooking them, trying to pinpoint the person responsible. "Of course there's a reason. I wouldn't volunteer for no reason."

"Well are you going to tell us that reason?" Claudia presses, clearly trying to find out why he's here. Or rather, the Gamemakers are probably trying to figure it out and are using her to get the information.

"I'd rather not," Addae responds, briefly looking back at her for a moment before turning back to the Gamemakers section. A cold, sticky feeling washes over him as he looks at the Head Gamemaker and he has no doubt that man is partially responsible for the curse. His eyes narrow briefly at the Head Gamemaker before turning his gaze away, reaching up to grab onto his necklace and the protective charms without thinking about it.

"Ah, playing it cool and secretive," Claudia says, laughing a bit and trying to make it seem like she has the interview under control. "Not everyone is going to reveal all their secrets. But maybe if you win, you can tell us then." Addae keeps staring at her with slightly narrowed eyes, knowing he will never tell the host that he volunteered to end the curse on Panem. Not when she's wrapped up in it. Claudia clears her throat and glances away, growing uncomfortable in his unwavering gaze. "So what can we expect from you in the arena?"

Addae gives a casual shrug at her, not wanting to reveal everything he has planned but knowing he needs to give the Capitol some sort of answer to stay in their favor, even if he is disgusted at them falling to the curse. But he has to if he is to become victor. It's the only choice. "I have some things planned. You will simply have to wait and see what will happen."

Claudia wiggles a finger at him and turns to the crowd, laughing a bit. "Oh we're being very secretive. Well Addae, you can't disappoint us now. You have to make it past the bloodbath so we can learn what you have planned."

"I plan to become the victor," Addae says with no hesitation and he gets a few cheers from the crowd, making him glance out at them in surprise.

"Of course, of course," Claudia answers, still smiling over at Addae. "Well, I think it's time for the last question and since this is the last question of the night, you have to make it count. What's one last thing you would like to say?"

Addae turns towards one of the cameras and stares straight into it with his cold gaze, knowing he has a tough task ahead of him, but he has to do it. He's made it this far and he can't stop now. "I'll complete what I volunteered for. Don't worry about me."

There's silence for a few seconds before the buzzer sounds and the crowd applauds him. Addae just stands up and walks over to his spot next to where Maddie should be, not sitting down as the other tributes all stand back up.

"We have made it to the end of the interviews for the 113th Hunger Games!" Claudia tells the crowd, making them clap louder as they get to finally go home. "We've heard all their stories. We've seen the scores. We've seen them dazzle on the chariots. And now tomorrow morning, we'll see them fight! Best of luck, tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Someone off stage motions for Addae to start walking back so he does, leading the rest of the tributes back into the tribute center. He can hear some talking to their allies behind him, but he doesn't wait around with them. What's the point in talking to them? Especially when he doesn't see Maddie or Garia around. So he heads straight to the elevator to return to his floor. He ends up waiting for it with Ander and the boy stares ahead, angry look to his eyes but not trying to talk to Addae at all. When the doors open, they step on right away and Addae turns around at the sound of giggling, finding Jinx trying to talk to Tanelai and Garth.

But the doors quickly shut and they're moving up, stopping briefly at the seventh floor for Ander before making it to the eleventh floor. Addae steps out quietly, looking around for either of the two. "Hello?" He calls out as he keeps walking into the space. He soon hears footsteps approaching and Garia smiles at him before putting up a finger to his lips, motioning him to stay quiet. "Is she alright?" Addae asks, knowing he should have tried to help her. He told his grandmother he would help her not be cursed, yet he clearly hasn't done much.

"She will be," Garia responds with a heavy sigh, motioning Addae to follow her into another room. "The poor girl had a panic attack over the interview… I'm worried about her."

Addae keeps quiet at this, not knowing if he's worried or not for her. Worried? Not quite. More…concerned. Worry would mean he care about what happens to her in the arena. And he can't do that in the arena. Not if he's to make it out alive… The thought really hits him then as he looks over at his mentor. It's already tomorrow that they'll be heading into the arena. The days in the Capitol have flown by, not giving him any chance to do what he's meant to be doing. "It really starts tomorrow."

Garia shuts her eyes at this and sighs heavily. When she opens them, her eyes are sad as she looks over at him. "Yes, it really does… Addae, I need you to try your hardest to win."

"I'm going to," Addae tries to reassure her and she shakes her head at him.

"No, I mean _really_ try," Garia continues, meeting his gaze without flinching away. "If you truly want to win, you are going to have to do terrible things. No one makes it out of the arena still innocent. We've all killed and just all mask the memories differently. So tell me, Addae, how badly do you want to win? Can you look into the eyes of the people you've gotten to know over the past few days and take away their life? Can you kill someone the same age as your sister? Can you keep fighting when you reach the lowest point and there seems to be no more hope? Because you will have to do those things in the arena. The Games break you down to your lowest point. And the victors are the ones who can pull themselves back up. Do you really think you can do that?"

"I have to win," Addae responds to her, full of belief that he can do whatever it takes. Is he going to like it? Absolutely not and he's dreading having to take a life. But will he do it? Yes… "There's no way I can allow myself to die in that arena. They'll win and this curse will just keep going on and on, dooming more innocents each year."

Garia stares at him for a few seconds before sighing and heading towards a nearby chair. She waits until she's sitting to respond, and Addae is reminded that she's old and has already been doing this on her own for a while. "I sure hope so. It's quite lonely having to mentor each year on my own, year after year watch another two children die. And then having to return home to their families?" She shakes her head at this, looking numb to the pain. "Nothing I say can replace their child. So just once, it would be nice to not have to face two mourning families. And I feel that you're going to be District Eleven's better shot at winning this year."

Addae has never doubted that Garia has a good soul and has fought off the curse from the Hunger Games. But in this moment, it's clearer to him than ever before. His heart aches for her, knowing she doesn't deserve to keep watching children die each year. And it gives him one more reason to make sure that he becomes the victor.

Addae walks over to her and takes a seat next to her, meeting her gaze so she knows just how serious he is about what he says. "Garia, I am not afraid of going into the arena. I'll do whatever it takes. You're going to get a victor this year."

And then Addae is going to figure out how to remove this curse on Panem.

* * *

 **Alright we have made it through the interviews! We're now so very close to the Games actually starting and I am so very excited! I have lots of exciting things planned out for the arena and I really can't wait to reach it. Now we have just one more chapter left and we'll be checking in with Jinx for a chapter called "Beginning of the End"...I'll let you just guess about that lol.**

 **Updates are going to slow down a bit with the spring semester starting up for me. I've luckily had a lot of motivation over my break so I have chapters already written and just stockpiled. But I'm going to be updating one of my stories every two weeks so alternating this with Senseless will get us to April 7th with the chapters I have written. So...hopefully by then I'll have written more. If you want to know exact days I'll be updating, I have that information up on the blog!**

 **Oh I have a discord server for my stories! If you would like to join, just shoot me a PM.**

 **So thoughts on this set of interviews? Who stood out the most? Any surprises? Oh and since we're almost at the Games, who are you predicting as victor? I'm just curious if your guesses have changed since the intros!**

 **RQ #19: Hmm...how would you handle getting interviewed before the Games? I'd be a nervous blubbering mess XD**

 **Alrighty, I'll see you all in a few weeks to check in with Jinx for one last chapter before the bloodbath!**


	25. Beginning of the End

**Chapter 22:**

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten_

"Are you ready?"

Jinx turns towards her mentor, smiling and giggling at his question. Is she ready? For the Games to start? She thinks so, but would he say the same for her? "I'm ready to get back home to Sally!"

Johan sits next to her, kind smile on his face that's so similar to the smiles that Sally gives Jinx back home, making her smile falter. She misses her best friend so much…she has to get back home alive. There's no question about it. And once she wins, she can't get arrested because this is legal murdering and they won't arrest the victor! And the boy isn't a problem anymore. So who is going to stop her from being with Sally?

"Jinx…" Johan says slowly, thinking over his response which just makes Jinx nervously giggle. "I believe in you. I genuinely believe that you have a chance to win… Just don't do anything rash in the arena."

"Rash? Why do you say that?" Jinx giggles anxiously, knowing she's about to do exactly that. But Stark told her that she would be a good girl… And she likes having allies! It's fun knowing she has secret allies and she's excited to surprise everyone at the bloodbath that she's teamed up with Stark and Keelin. Who would have thought that the girl from Ten of all places would be allied with a career? "I'm just doing what he asked me to do!" Jinx nervously blurts out before realizing she wasn't supposed to say anything…

"He?" Johan asks in confusion and he gives Jinx a very concerned look that just makes her laugh nervously. She wants to tell Johan, she really does. He's been so nice to her this entire time…but she told Stark she wouldn't say anything… She just wants to be a good girl and get home to Sally. "Jinx, if you have allies, you need to tell me about them now." He lets out a sigh as he sees how nervous she is and places a hand on her shoulder while trying to give her an encouraging smile. "I'm trying to help you and I want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to help you in the arena. But I need to know whatever you're planning to do and any allies you might have so I can work with their mentors for sponsors."

"I…" Jinx hesitates to tell Johan, knowing she's not supposed to…Stark said she would be a good girl if she didn't tell her mentor… But she feels bad not telling him. She wishes Sally were here to help her…she would know exactly what Jinx should do.

"Jinx, I promise I'm not going to be mad or judge you at all," Johan holds out a pinky to her and Jinx nervously giggles at it. "Pinky promise. I know you're a good person and just trying to survive."

A good person… Jinx takes his pinky in hers as her smile grows to being genuine once more. She's been ready to burst being unable to tell Johan about her alliance. "I'm going to help Stark kill Ampora!"

Johan is silent as he stares at her for a few seconds, making her nervously giggle as she waits for his response. "Jinx, you can't do that. You're going to get hurt!"

"But I told Stark I would!" Jinx tells him, starting to shake her head as she just doesn't know what to do. "He said I would be a good girl for helping out him and Keelin and I couldn't tell you."

"Because he knew I would talk sense into you," Johan mutters under his breath and shakes his head before clearing his throat. He moves closer, making sure Jinx meets his gaze before he continues, "Jinx, please…you can't do that. Ampora is a trained tribute. You aren't going to make it out of that fight unharmed, if you even make it out alive. Please…don't ally with Stark at all. I want to see you win and this won't help you win… Don't you want to win for Sally?"

"I do!" Jinx answers, nodding her head rapidly as she just even more confused about what to do. "I volunteered so I could be safe and be with Sally."

"Then you have to stay safe," Johan tells her gently and she giggles anxiously at this. "Would Sally want you putting yourself at risk being Stark's ally?" Jinx shakes her head at him, knowing Sally would never want that. In fact, she would be very unhappy if she knew…and Jinx just wants to make her happy. "Then don't be his ally. Jinx…please, I'm begging you, do not ally with Stark. Careers are never good people."

"Okay," Jinx finally says, knowing she can't be Stark's ally, no matter how much fun his plan seemed. Sally would never be happy with her doing that and she never wants to disappoint Sally. "I won't be his ally."

"Good," Johan lets out a sigh of relief and Jinx giggles at that. "Jinx, you need to be careful with your choices in the arena. Just…" He pauses to think of his response and she giggles in the silence, but he doesn't seem uncomfortable by the noise, not like all the other tributes. "Keep reminding yourself that you have to do whatever to get home to Sally. But also make sure you don't do anything you'll regret later… I know you're a good girl, you truly are, just don't let the arena ruin that."

Jinx feels are warm inside at getting called a good girl by Johan, almost just like how she feels when Sally calls her that, and she grins up at her mentor. "I will! I'll be a good girl and get home for you and Sally!"

"Okay," Johan answers with a genuine smile at her and suddenly he hugs her. She giggles at the unexpected hug but she hugs him back, really liking her mentor. He's always believed in her from the moment they got on the trains. "You got to be careful in there. I really want you to win. And I'm going to do whatever I can out here to help you win."

"I know you will!" Jinx happily responds as Johan lets go of her. "You're the best mentor of them all!"

Johan chuckles at this and shakes his head, but he still smiles at her. "I wouldn't say the very best, but I'm trying."

"Tributes, please report to the hovercrafts."

Jinx giggles as she looks up at the announcement. When she turns back to Johan, the smile is gone from his face and replaced with concern. "Alright…" Johan starts as he stands up, sighing before looking down at Jinx and trying to give her an encouraging smile. "Do you still feel ready?"

"Yep!" Jinx responds immediately, nodding her head at him and giggling a bit. If anything, she feels more ready now after talking to Johan. She knows what she has to do and that's whatever is going to get her back home to Sally. She's not afraid to kill in the arena. Why would she be afraid of that when she's already done it before? And this time there's no chance she'll get in trouble for it. They'll be _excited_ when she kills now. "I'm ready to go!"

"Well, at least that makes one of us."

* * *

Jinx doesn't know why she can't stop the nervous pit in her stomach as she wanders around the small launch room, just giggling as she watches the screen set up in the room to show the tributes a countdown until launch. There's only a couple minutes left and she's all dressed and ready for the arena, wearing an outfit almost identical to the one she wore throughout training, just a gray top instead of her District's color of red. Her stylist sits off in the corner, his gaze following Jinx as she wanders around the room, but staying away from her now that she's dressed and ready for the arena. He doesn't try to keep up conversation and normally Jinx would have kept chattering away but right now, for some reason, she can't find the words to keep talking away.

Perhaps it's the bundle of nerves in her, making her stomach twist, but she knows there's no threat of her throwing up her breakfast. She hadn't felt nervous before leaving the tribute center so why is she feeling this way now? Maybe it's because Johan isn't around to talk to her anymore?

Or maybe it's knowing that she's about to ignore Stark's plan and he is going to be very angry about it… She's seen in training just how angry he can get when things don't go his way and she doesn't want that anger to get directed towards her. Will he decided to target her next? Will he go after her next once he has taken out Pride, Link, and Ampora? She really doesn't want that to happen… But Johan told her she can't be allies with Stark and she wants to listen to what her mentor told her. Then there's the fact that Sally wouldn't be happy with her and might not think she's a good girl for allying with Stark.

And she has to do whatever will make Sally happy.

So who knows? Maybe her not joining in the plan will make him get killed in the bloodbath and then she won't have to worry about him chasing her. That would be the best option. But will that actually happen? She doesn't know. How is she supposed to know that when she doesn't even know yet what she's going to do in the bloodbath?

Supplies. She should definitely get some supplies. Or at least a knife. A knife would be good to make sure she can kill people. Hopefully she'll be placed near Beta, it would be fun to go after him. Jinx giggles at the thought of him, amused at how he thinks she's always in his head. She doesn't get it but it's fun messing with him!

Yes, she'll go after Beta. That sounds like a fun plan. And then maybe anyone else that's around her.

"Tributes, please prepare for launch."

Jinx turns her head towards the launch tube, giggling anxiously at the fact that it's finally time. As she walks over to it, still giggling, she just repeats in her head that it's legal murdering. She's already done illegal murdering so how will this be any different? The difference is in what people will think of what she's done. No one will be mad at her for killing in the arena. They're going to love her for killing in here. Just look at how much they praise the career victors that kill several tributes. So why wouldn't can't she be like them?

Jinx looks over at her stylist, wondering if he will help her with anything. But he just motions her over towards the tube, staying put and away from her. Jinx just giggles at him staying away from her before heading over to the launch tube. Once she steps into the tube, glass slides down around her, trapping her in silence broken by her nervous laughter that echoes around as she waits the final few seconds. She can do this. She has to get home to Sally.

Slowly the platform below her starts to rise up and her anxious giggling increases in volume as she gets surrounded by darkness. She can see a small amount of light above her that grows in intensity as she gets closer to it. When she's pushed above the ground, she's blinded right away and has to squint and hold up a hand to help her see. But as she keeps blinking and trying to see, she slowly realizes that the arena is going to make it very difficult for that to happen.

Jinx is giggling nervously as she turns her attention away from the mirrored cornucopia standing in the middle of the circle the tributes are placed in and starts to look around at the high buildings surrounding her. Behind her are a series of large buildings, looking similar in shape and size and with a bunch of windows place in them. Across from her, she can catch sight of a circular building, standing tall and with extravagant angel statues made of glass lining the top of it. All of the buildings are reflecting back at them, some reflecting the bright sun into her eyes. But as she looks left at the imposing building that stands in front of the large circle they're placed in with the cornucopia and then right at the long path to a tall skyscraper, she slowly starts to realize where she stands.

After all, she was just standing in the City Circle just a few nights ago for the chariots.

Jinx brings her attention away from the glass and mirrored Capitol surrounding them, finally starting to pay attention to the tributes that are surrounding her. And when she does, she grows fearful when she realizes she was placed right in-between two of Stark's targets. How is she supposed to get away from him and not be his ally when he'll be going right towards her?

Jinx giggles anxiously as she grabs onto the beaded necklace she wears as her token, what was once a birthday gift from Sally. Sally…she has to make it back home for Sally.

"Welcome to the 113th Hunger Games," Elliot's voice echoes on the glass buildings around them and Jinx looks up briefly at his announcement. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The sixty second countdown starts as Jinx turns her attention to the tributes surrounding her, almost a little afraid that she just doesn't know what to do right now. She has to make sure she gets out alive, yet she doesn't know if she can get supplies. Not when to her left she has Link, and a few of the careers farther away. Well, at least Beta is only a few spots from her. Maybe she can still go after him. But…between them are Link, Digit, and Gwenith… Link is the only one she's worried about. Beta glances over at her and she giggles and waves over at him, making him glare back at her before turning his attention to the items scattered around the mirrored cornucopia.

Jinx turns towards her other side, giggling even more in nervousness at the tributes on this side of her. Pride, Keelin, and Stark… Stark catches her gaze and raises an eyebrow at her before nodding out at the other tributes, trying to tell her silently to go after Ampora like he planned… _But she can't._ She promised Johan she wouldn't.

This is not good. She wants to go towards some of the items close to her, especially a shiny knife. But will she make it out alive?

"Shit!"

Everyone turns towards the boy that cried out and Jinx sees Link crouching down, desperately trying to grab a small wooden sphere as it falls down towards his platform. There's a _ping_ that rings out among them as his wooden eye bounces on the platform and he reaches out to catch it. But his hands smack the eye away from him and he cries out just before it hits the ground around him.

 _Boom!_

Jinx flinches at the loud explosion before staring at the exploded crater in shock for a second, eyes wide as she looks at the scattered blood and fragments of what used to be Link. She doesn't feel anything from his death, only a little spooked from the sheer volume of the explosion, even as she stares at the bloody remains on the ground. The silence the lingers in the air after his explosion lasts for only a few seconds until all the tributes surrounding Link start to react. The first one is loud laughter from Jinx's right as Stark roars in laughter. Digit also stares at the crater with her eyes wide in fear. Gwenith starts sobbing at the death, making Ryo call over to her from the other side of Stark.

Pyrite says something but Jinx can't hear what they said, starting to giggle at what happened, having no other clue how she should be reacting right now. They still have more than half a minute left on the countdown and already one person is dead by his own bad luck. And it was one of the people right next to her… Maybe she'll be able to get some supplies now! She just has to run away from Pride…

Jinx glances over at the remaining Reaped career, finding him glaring over at Stark still laughing in amusement, bent over with his hands on his knees. "Oh that's so great!" Stark says through his laughter, seemingly not carrying that Link's allies are glaring at him.

"Fuck you, Stark!" Pride yells over at him, but he doesn't seem to make Stark mad at all. If anything, he just makes the career laugh some more as he straightens up, wiping at his eyes as he tries to stop laughing and get focused again on the Games starting soon.

But as the seconds keep ticking by, she doesn't know if she will be able to get away from Pride without getting hurt. Or if she'll escape her old allies since they're so close to her. She clutches the beads on her necklace even tighter, giggling nervously at her situation. It really was lucky for her to have one of the threats surrounding her get killed before the Games actually started. If only that could happen to the others.

Jinx stops giggling suddenly, staring out at the crater from where the mines went off around Link. Her eyes turn down at the ground around hers, knowing she has identical mines around hers, all to stop the tributes from moving early. Slowly, she brings her gaze over to the angry career standing next to her, one hand tightening on her necklace as the other reaches towards the clasp.

Johan said to do whatever it takes to get back home to Sally… She _has_ to get home. She can't let Sally down, not after promising her best friend that she would be a good girl and get home to her. She's doing all of this for Sally. She volunteered in the first place so she would be safe after killing the boy on accident. They won't be able to arrest her when she wins. And then she can be with Sally and nothing is going to be able to keep them apart.

Jinx starts giggling loudly in nervousness at what she's about to do, bringing the attention of a couple nearby tributes over towards her. With one quick movement, she undoes the clasp on the necklace and stares down at it in her hands. A plan slowly starts to form as she glances back at the countdown, finding less than thirty seconds remaining. She clenches her fist around the necklace Sally gave her for her birthday, knowing she's running out of time to make sure she makes it out of the bloodbath alive.

Jinx made a promise to Sally before she left District Ten. She told her best friend she would be good and become a victor for her. And she is going to do that. She'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets home to Sally.

 _Sally, I'm being a good girl, I promise._

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the start of the 113th Hunger Games...**_


	26. Event Of The Season

**Chapter 23:**

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

The Gamemaker Headquarters is a disaster as the tributes are brought into the arena, but it doesn't surprise her one bit. Not with the mess that Akakios keeps everything. And yet, despite all the chaos surrounding the Headquarters, an excitement is building in her that she's about to watch her first arena launch from an insider's perspective. This is what she's been working towards and the moment is finally here.

"Okay everyone, let's get the cameras to pan over the arena," Akakios calls out to the Gamemakers, watching the wall of screens displaying the various camera views. He's smug as he watches the cameras take aerial views of the arena, knowing that the arena is one of his best ones, even if Lisia hates admitting it to herself. Made entirely of glass and mirrors, the arena is a scaled down version of the Capitol, containing some of the key components located in the very center of the city. The cameras start trained in on the cornucopia with the tributes surrounding it, placed in the City Circle in front of the Capitol Justice building. Heading into the west, the Avenue of the Tributes leads over to the skyscraper replicating the building Lisia stands in now. At the westernmost point stands one of the larger buildings there, something that could be a safe haven for tributes desperate to save themselves.

The cameras pan north, showing off the residential area. A dozen apartment buildings of various sizes wait for someone to enter them, some offering refuge and some offering destruction. Nestled among the buildings stands the President's mansion, but the tributes will have a difficult time trying to reach it. And in the northeast sits a fenced off area full of mansions for the wealthiest of the Capitol.

The southern half of the arena contains the best entertainment the Capitol has to offer. Buildings of various shapes and sizes take up the space. There's the vast sports center, full of numerous floors of different sports arenas. Then there's Lisia's personal favorite of the buildings, the opera house, even containing the angel statues lining the top of the building, made from glass, just like everything else with the buildings. And between these two rest the university in a small park and a shopping complex, both providing plenty of locations to hide. The last building shown is the Panem Museum of History, standing close to the Games Headquarters.

"Alright, bring the cameras to the tributes," Akakios calls down and the cameras shift to the tributes standing in the City Circle, all looking around in confusion at the buildings and Lisia can see as slowly they start realizing where they stand. The cameras start at the eastern point and the tributes standing closest to the Justice Building, before panning clockwise around the circle. Pyrite, Iannis, Ampora, Ander, Addae, and Beau stand in the southeast quadrant. Muir, Carrie-Ann, Garth, Tanelai, Maddie, and Virote stand in the southwest quadrant. Kilroy, Ryo, Stark, Keelin, and Pride stand in the northwest quadrant. And Jinx, Lincoln, Digit, Gwenith, and Beta stand in the northeast quadrant.

From working with Akakios, Lisia knows a lot of the placements were intentional based on the observations made in training. Keelin and Stark were placed together, along with Jinx between Lincoln and Pride, all to create drama as they watch their plan unfold. And of course, the trained careers were placed farther away from them in the hopes they wouldn't get there in time to stop Stark. Garth and Tanelai were placed together after the Capitol crowd started rooting for those two, so Akakios placed them next to each other in hopes that keeping the Capitol happy will keep him his job. And the rest were placed at random to not let everyone catch on to the ones placed intentionally.

"And…start the countdown," Akakios tells them and the signal is given to Elliot to announce the start of the Games and the beginning of the sixty second countdown.

Lisia sits back as the countdown starts, watching the tributes get prepared for the start of the Games. Most are getting ready to run, but some are nervously watching, like Lincoln as he takes out his eye to clean it on his shirt. But when Lincoln screams out, the cameras immediately cut to him as he scrambles to catch his wooden eye before it hits the ground. Lisia tenses up as she watches it hit his platform and for a second thinks he'll be able to catch it. But as he scrambles for it, his hands smack it towards the ground and Lisia cringes as the mines explode around him, instantly causing his death.

She turns her attention towards his profile on one of the screens to the side, watching the instant flatline as silence fills the Games Headquarters, broken only by the tributes starting to react to the explosion. "Did that just…"

"Shut up," Akakios whispers harshly to her and Lisia clamps her mouth shut, not wanting to get in any trouble with him. But from his tone, it's clear he's unhappy at the explosion happening before the countdown ended. "Frame it as him just being unlucky. Bring up clips from his interview and-"

"What's she doing?" Lisia interrupts him, not caring what he might say to her. Not when her focus is brought to Jinx as she reaches up and unclasps her necklace, giggling as she stares down at the beads on it.

She briefly glances at Akakios' face, finding him paling as he stares at Jinx as she rips one end of the necklace open with her teeth and spits out a couple beads into her hand. "She's going to explode them…" Akakios mutters as he stares up at the girl from Ten.

And sure enough, Jinx stares at the beads for a short second before launching one at the tribute to her right, causing an explosion around Pride before he even knows what happened. Keelin flinches at the explosion and looks over at Jinx, shouting at her just as the young girl's arm moves through the air again, "No-"

Keelin is cut off by her mines exploding and her heart rate flatlines. Three tributes already dead and there's still under twenty seconds left before the Games officially start.

"You crazy bitch!" Stark screams over at Jinx and she flinches for a second. Jinx looks down at the beads in her hand before picking up another one, contemplating briefly before sending it towards Stark.

The career reaches out into the air, barely catching the bead as he gets off balance and Lisia wonders for a second if he's going to fall off his platform. But he catches himself as Jinx turns towards her left as the timer reaches ten seconds remaining, and she quickly starts throwing beads at the girls there. Digit is screaming at her to stop, but Jinx doesn't listen to her, sending a bead that sets of yet another explosion.

Stark angrily throws the bead he caught to the side and flinches when an explosion happens beside him. He glances over as Gwenith starts wailing for her ally, realizing he set off the mines surrounding Ryo by his wayward throwing. But Gwenith's screams are soon cut off by another bead thrown by Jinx.

The final seconds tick down as Jinx throws another bead and it starts rolling over towards Beta's platform and he stares down at it, hands clenched tightly to the point his nails are digging into his palms, unable to do anything to stop the bead from getting closer. There's nothing any of the tributes can do, forced to wait out the remaining seconds.

Jinx suddenly screams as a bead slips out of her hands and starts falling towards the platform, so similar to what happened with Lincoln that set off this whole chain of deaths. She drops to her knees on the platform, trying to catch it but it rolls towards the edge. As it falls off the edge, the countdown reaches zero and the gong goes off, just barely saving Jinx from dying by her own hand.

Some tributes are left standing still in shock as the Games start, still staring over at the mass amount of explosions that happened. But the careers are quick to start moving and the rest of the tributes follow shortly after them. Well…the tributes that remain.

The first to leave the cornucopia is Jinx as she scrambles to her feet and races north, glancing back over her shoulder as Stark shouts after her as he runs into the cornucopia for weapons and supplies.

In the northeast quadrant, Beta jumps away from his pedestal just as the bead reaches it, quickly running away from Pyrite next to him. His face is full of anger as he runs in the northern part of the City Circle, picking up a bag and avoiding the remaining tributes as he heads west. He passes the cornucopia just before Stark runs out, face livid as he heads after Jinx. Pyrite quickly reaches a nearby knife on the ground, still a little shaken up from the explosions that took out two of their allies. They reach the knife as Iannis is running towards it too and he realizes his mistake just as Pyrite turns around and stabs the knife into his chest, making the first official kill of the bloodbath.

Most of the action is taking place in the southern part of the City Circle, unsurprisingly since that's where most of the remaining tributes are. Maddie is the first one to leave from this area, grabbing the smallest bag and running north as the other tributes start to get into fights.

Garth and Tanelai both decide to take their chances going in for supplies since the careers are mostly away from them or already dead. Tanelai takes the bigger risk, heading in to get an axe and better supplies while Garth goes towards a smaller bag closer to him, a bag someone else tries to go for. Carrie-Ann tackles Garth to the ground, catching him by surprise. He cries out in shock and tries to roll over to push her off, but the way he landed has his arms pinned under him. She punches Garth in the head and his face slams into the ground as Tanelai turns back around, axe in hand and bag over her shoulder. She cries out for her ally and starts running towards him as another tribute finally gets over their shock and picks up a knife near them and throws it at the two tributes fighting on the ground.

Muir watches for a second as her knife lands in Carrie-Ann's back. The girl coughs blood onto Garth as she struggles to hold herself up. With one big shove, he pushes her off of him and glances down at the dying girl as Tanelai reaches him, his face distraught. But his ally quickly pulls him away as the girl who caused the death keeps running towards the cornucopia and better supplies, allowing the two to slip away and head south, with Tanelai leading the way.

Meanwhile, another one of the remaining careers goes in for a kill, proving just why they were chosen to volunteer this year. Ampora races in towards the supplies, finding a dull axe on the ground near her that she quickly picks up. A brief glance around gets her eyes set on Ander and she races towards him as he tries to get a bag. He scrambles to get away from her but the tall girl is too fast and she brings down the axe on the back of his neck. A loud popping noise sounds and Ander collapses to the ground, no visible wound but the sound was unmistakably the sound of his neck snapping. She turns around, ready to keep going, but there just aren't many tributes remaining.

The two closest to Ampora that briefly fight are Addae and Beau when they both go for the same bag. But Addae yells out at the boy in a deep booming voice, "Drop the bag or you will be cursed!" Beau quickly drops the bag and runs away from the cornucopia and supplies, leaving Addae to take the bag and look around at the tributes there. He soon takes off running in a similar direction to Beau.

The last conflict of the bloodbath happens close to the western side with the tributes just after the explosions. Kilroy's face betrayed her normally cool persona and she stares in shock still for a few seconds after the gong sounds, face turning a slight hue of green at all the death that as occurred. But she soon pulls herself together, running to get some supplies to try and stay alive until the Gamemakers take her out. As she starts running west, Virote gets in her way and Kilroy quickly punches him in the side of the head, making him fall to the ground and clutch his head. She stumbles over her feet as she glances back at him, but when she sees the careers regrouping and looking over at her, she turns around and starts sprinting down the Avenue of the Tributes.

The three remaining careers approach Virote and he tries to get to his feet, only to stumble and fall back down from the harsh punch that Kilroy gave him. Pyrite reaches him first and they hesitate for a second before sliding a knife across his throat, ending things quickly for him. When they stand back up, the three careers stare around at the City Circle, confusion on all of their faces as they assess what just happened as the bloodbath comes to an end.

Silence sits in the Games Headquarters as everyone slowly starts looking over at Akakios, waiting for him to guide them on the next steps. Yet Lisia can see he's frozen in shock, face pale as he stares at the screens, and his fists clenched tightly on the arms of his chair. Lisia holds back a smirk as she watches him, knowing that by letting Jinx take out that many tributes before the Games started, he might have just solidified the end of his career.

When he still doesn't seem like he will move, Lisia stands up and calls down to the team, not going to let them fail now. And who knows, maybe someone will notice her taking charge now. "Fire the cannons. After get shots showing where all the living tributes are heading. And then bring in the hovercrafts to take away the bodies."

Well…what remains of some of the bodies.

Lisia watches as ten cannons are fired, each one sounding while showing the picture of the deceased tribute. Lincoln…Pride…Keelin…Digit…Ryo…Gwenith…Iannis…Carrie-Ann…Ander…and Virote. Almost half the tributes already dead by the end of the bloodbath. Lisia hasn't seen such a large bloodbath like this in years…and never one where something like this happened.

She calls down to the Gamemakers again, a thought crossing her mind. "Also someone make a note to consider banning tokens that could cause a repeat of this."

A phone starts ringing behind her and it snaps Akakios out of his shock. Lisia glances back at him as his shaking hands pull out the phone, struggling to pick it up. He swallows hard and tries to clear his throat as he answers, giving Lisia a glare that causes her to turn back around. "He-hello, Mr. President."

Lisia tries to listen in to what the President is saying on the other side as she watches the cameras follow the remaining tributes. Pyrite, Muir, and Ampora still stand around the cornucopia, Pyrite talking as they point over to the pedestals, explaining to Muir what happened since she couldn't see from her spot opposite of Jinx. Next the cameras cut to Jinx as the girl slams the door shut behind her in one of the mansions and she looks around in shock, finding out the big part of the arena that the tributes wouldn't be able to see from just looking around. Stark isn't too far behind her, hesitating in the crossroads inside the gated community, trying to decide if he should search the mansions or go out into the apartments to find Jinx. Close by to them, Maddie is sobbing as she makes her way into one of the apartment buildings. Beta is also racing among them, still heading west with a dark fire in his eyes.

Kilroy has reached the Games Headquarters, pausing to catch her breath and glance back down the Avenue of the Tributes, making sure the careers haven't followed her. Once the coast is clear, she heads into the building and Lisia wonders if she'll find the supplies they've placed.

Beau has run into the opera house, it being the closest building aside from the Justice Building. He starts searching around, face full of dismay as he tries to find some supplies to make up for the lack of things he picked up at the cornucopia. Addae is close to him, in the Museum of History, taking stock of the items he has picked up and occasionally glancing over at the door.

And the only other alliance left other than the careers has reached the shopping complex, Tanelai slowly down to help Garth out as he holds his arm up to his nose gently, trying to stop the bleeding. Tanelai keeps looking around in the stores, trying to find a place for them to stop.

"Yes sir, I understand," Akakios says and Lisia glances back to see him hang up the phone. He stares at it for a few seconds, his fist tightly clenched around it and face still pale. He finally looks up at Lisia and gives her a sneer, making her turn away. "Don't you dare question that at all," he whispers to her before clearing his throat and standing up. He walks over to the edge of the balcony looking down at the rest of the Gamemakers and puts a grin on his face, but Lisia can still see the fear in his eyes. Oh if only she could have heard what happened on that phone call. "Great work everyone! We're off to an excellent start so keep it up. Let's keep these Games as exciting as the start has been."

Yes, exciting… Not quite the word Lisia would have gone for, but then again, she's not the Head Gamemaker trying to cover their ass from what might be the inevitable loss of their job.

Lisia watches as Akakios starts making commands down at the Gamemakers, filing the information away for when she will someday be making these calls. But there's one thing for sure she won't be doing and that's letting six tributes die before the Games even begin.

But now… _let the Games begin._

* * *

 **Yes, let the Games begin indeed. Well, here we are. Bet you didn't expect that lol.**

 **Eulogies:**

 _ **Lincoln 'Link' Bashara [4], Ranked 22nd, Killed by his own mines:**_

 _Link! What a boy. I loved Link and for a while it was in the plans for him to go farther in the Games. But as I started developing the idea for Jinx's shenanigans, I wanted her to be inspired by an explosion. And who would be unlucky enough to set off his own mines? Lincoln Bashara. He was so much fun to write and I loved developing his relationship with Muir! And of course, I had lots of fun figuring out what unlucky thing would happen next to him. Thanks for sending him in, Mik! RIP Link._

 _ **Pride Flourish [1], Ranked 21st, Killed by Jinx [10]:**_

 _I don't have much to say about Pride for reasons. RIP Pride._

 _ **Keelin Varela [5], Ranked 20th, Killed by Jinx [10]:**_

 _Keelin was always an interesting one for me to write as I don't like a lot of the choices she makes as a person, but enjoyed the fact that she's a layered tribute who isn't always good. She was trying to do whatever she could do to win and unfortunately, because of the placement choice, she didn't get a chance to really fight and try in the arena. Thank you for sending her in, Cloe, and I hope you enjoyed her portrayal! RIP Keelin._

 _ **Digit Estrada [3], Ranked 19th, Killed by Jinx [10]:**_

 _Digit was one who could have had a really interesting arc if she was a featured tribute, given her backstory of being forced to volunteer by her parents. But alas, she was not, and the Gamemakers decided to put her near the careers, thanks to her volunteering. Thank you for sending her in, District 9 Tribute! RIP Digit._

 _ **Ryo Hideki [6], Ranked 18th, Killed by Stark [2]:**_

 _Where do I start with Ryo? He was such a good boy who was just struggling from never having an answer about what was effecting him. And sadly, he never got the chance to learn to live with this information. But at least he got an answer before his death. I got to learn a lot about Bipolar Disorder through researching for him and I very much enjoyed becoming further educated about that! But I felt I needed to have one of my own go in the bloodbath and he was one that I feel with have more of an impact on the others after his death, rather than staying alive. RIP Ryo._

 _ **Gwenith Fornhalt [9], Ranked 17th, Killed by Jinx [10]:**_

 _Gwenith was a great non-featured tribute to work with and I really enjoyed writing her interactions with Garth, Beta, and Ryo. It always sticks out in my mind her asking Garth what he did to be a bad person. She was a real innocent caught in the Games and unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she didn't even make it to the start of the Games. Thank you for submitting her, SherlockedAtHeart! RIP Gwenith._

 _ **Iannis Lyam [8], Ranked 16th, Killed by Pyrite [1]:**_

 _Iannis has always been that one that's weird that got overlooked (yes, I intended my Overlooked pun lol) compared to the others. I guess there is something as too much crazy in one story? Idk I couldn't find a spot for him with Beta and Addae, so here he goes... Thanks for sending him in, Winter's Writing! RIP Iannis._

 _ **Carrie-Ann West [6], Ranked 15th, Killed by Muir [4]:**_

 _Carrie-Ann was one that got further pushed to the background as a non-featured tribute...mostly because she didn't want to ally with Ryo. But sorry, Carrie-Ann, we can't have you killing one of the featured tributes in the bloodbath! That's pretty much why she died now - I needed someone who would attack Garth but could be killed now. Thanks for sending her in, Seahorse8! RIP Carrie-Ann._

 _ **Oleander 'Ander' Spruce [7], Ranked 14th, Killed by Ampora [2]:**_

 _Ander was a justifiable angry boy and probably could have caused trouble for people in the arena if I didn't want to have some deaths after the gong sounded and had limited choices. Again, he was another one that kind of faded to the background because he refused to have any allies but I would have liked to done more with him. Thanks for sending him in, jul312! RIP Ander._

 _ **Virote Daivan [5], Ranked 13th, Killed by Pyrite [1]:**_

 _And finally we have Virote. Another one that faded into the background for not allying with any of the featured tributes. He had a lot of personal conflicts that would have been great to touch on more if he was a featured tribute, but alas, he was not. But he was still fun to write! Thanks for sending him in, Golden Moon Huntress! RIP Virote._

 **Again, I do want to say a big thank you to people who have submitted non-featured tributes. While they obviously didn't get as much time in the spotlight as the featured tributes, we couldn't have the story without them!**

 **Here we go! Yes I really did just have a ten person bloodbath and I doubt you were expecting that lol. Okay lots of things to cover:**

 **\- SPONSOR GIFTS! Sponsoring is officially open! It will be through a google form which is located on my profile. There's also a link on my profile to a google sheet that will tell you how many sponsor points you have! Sponsoring is going to be a little different this time around. To get a gift in for the next chapter, you must submit the form within one week from today (so due end of the day March 17th). This is to give me time to write the chapter and not have to change things after I've written it if there's another sponsor gift. If you submit after that one week, it will get to them the following chapter (assuming they're still alive hehe). **

**\- BLOG! I have updated lots of stuff onto the blog including kills, deaths, arena map, and bloodbath arrangement. This is also where you will find the list of what tributes have and need, as well as their locations at the end of each day! So be sure to check out that list first before sponsoring anything! Also I'd love to hear your thoughts on the arena idea/map because I spent a lot of time making it in microsoft paint lol.**

 **I think that's all the important stuff I need to cover. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. Did you expect Jinx to blow up that many people or did you think she was only going to kill one person? Oh remembered another thing! From now on, I'm going to be doing eulogies in the night time chapters because I'm splitting up the Games into day and night chapters. Give some suspense lol.**

 **Okay RQ time! This one will be worth ten points to make up for me not having one last chapter for the ~dramatic effect~ lol.**

 **RQ #20:** Which death surprised you the most?

 **I will see you all (hopefully) soon with Day One! In the meantime, be sure to check out Senseless! I can't wait to finally start getting into the Games because I have lots of plans. So carry on, things are about to get _wayward_... Okay I'll stop with the Carry On Wayward Son jokes (for now lol).**


	27. Day One: The Noise and Confusion

**Chapter 24:**

 _Day One_

 _Johan Bonavento, Victor of the 104_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Johan can feel all the stares of the mentors being directed towards him, yet he just keeps staring at the screens, so many of them already turned black from tributes being dead… Tributes being dead thanks to what his tribute did. He stares at Jinx's screen, watching the girl run away to save her life, desperately trying to hide as Stark chases after her. No supplies, no allies, nothing…

"What the fuck was that bullshit?"

Johan slowly turns to look around him, knowing exactly who it was that yelled across the room, even though her tribute is still alive. And he is terrified to have Okeanas' rage direct at him.

With the silence broken, a bunch of the victors all start talking at once and Johan just brings his feet up on the couch, wanting to hide away from them all. He didn't want this to happen to them. He didn't even tell Jinx that she should blow up a bunch of tributes before the Games start. She did that all on her own…

Danila jumps up from the spot next to him, ready to start defending him from the other victors, just like she's done since he was reaped almost ten years ago. Johan keeps his gaze on both of the tributes from Ten, trying to focus on the fact that both of them are still alive. Somehow, despite nearly half the tributes being dead in under five minutes.

The two mentors from Three quickly move away from the fight breaking out and go over to where Garia sits, wanting to just focus on her tributes. Despite their tributes not getting along, Garia welcomes Moro and Isidore, even offering them some snacks she has.

But they are the calmest ones around. Bronn and Clemont hold Okeanas back as she screams over at him, shouting all sorts of terrible things at him for what Jinx did. "That's some real fucking bullshit, telling your tribute to start killing the others when they're trapped on their pedestal and can't do anything!"

Danila gets up in the career woman's face and Thetis steps towards her, ready to stop Danila as she starts rolling up her sleeves. Tanya and Amelia are glancing between their fellow mentors, unsure if they should get involved, even though they were the ones first impacted by Jinx. "Do you really think he would tell Jinx to do that?" Danila turns back to him, bringing too much attention over to him. "Tell them you didn't tell her to do this."

"Of course I didn't!" Johan answers quickly, but…he knows he's partially responsible. He told Jinx to do whatever it takes to win.

"Why do you even care?" Rami asks her, looking baffled at the woman's anger. "It wasn't your tribute that was killed."

"But her allies were killed," Okeanas answers, getting an eye roll from Rami.

The next voice to speak up cuts through the arguments, the sharp woman from Six not putting up with this at all. "At least you still have tributes alive," Embla scoffs at Okeanas as she keeps a hand on Dampero's shoulder, the young victor just staring blankly at the screens in front of him. "We lost both tributes!"

Johan can hear some chuckling nearby and finds Fonio sitting nearby, sipping a beer and watching this fight with an amused expression. When he sees Johan looking over at him, he holds up his beer to him and winks, "That's the best drama I've seen since I had the competition last year to win a date with me."

"You are such an ass," Haider tells his fellow victor before getting up and moving away, giving him a look of disgust.

The sound of someone hiccupping makes its way over to him and Johan looks around, finding the newest victor starting to cry as her former mentor rubs her back, trying to calm her down. Instantly Johan's heart breaks for her, knowing how painful it is to watch your tribute die for the first time. And Letha's tribute didn't even have a chance to fight.

Johan gets up right away and walks over to the pair from Five, nervously glancing back over his shoulder out of fear that he's going to get punched by Okeanas. When he stops in front of Letha, he doesn't really know what to say to her because what could possibly make her feel better right now? Yet…he has to try. "I'm sorry," he says quietly as he sits down next to her on the opposite side of her former mentor.

Letha uses her sleeves to wipe at her eyes and sniffles, trying to hide the fact that she's crying about her tribute. "You weren't the one that killed her…"

"No, I wasn't…" Johan sighs as he stares ahead at his tribute, watching Jinx for a few seconds before continuing. "But I told her to do whatever it takes to win. So I guess I'm partially responsible."

He finally looks over at Letha at this and she starts shaking her head at him, despite the tears falling down her cheeks. "You're trying to get her home. And she's doing what everyone else in this room has done…figured out how to survive."

"Yeah…" Johan answers and they sit in silence for a minute, the victors around them still arguing about what Jinx did. "I am sorry though… The first tribute always hurts the most."

"Well it should just get easier from here, right…?" Letha asks and Johan shares a look with Aion, both of the older victors knowing the answer to that. "No…I suppose not. It's still watching at least one child die each year… But thank you."

"For what?" Johan asks in confusion, knowing he hasn't done much at all. If anything, she should be mad at him right now like the other victors.

"For coming to check on me," Letha tries to smile at him, struggling with her tears to force the happy gesture. "Do you see anyone else doing that to new victors?"

Johan shakes his head, knowing no one from other Districts checked in with him the first time he lost a victor. And he hasn't seen anyone check in with the victors that have won since him…

Letha suddenly stands up and Johan and Aion watch her with confused expressions. She turns back down to look at them, determined look on her face despite the tears. "I'm changing that. Do you want to join me? Poor Stefan is all alone in mentoring and I couldn't imagine that."

"Neither could I…" Johan answers quietly as he turns to look over at the only victor from Seven, his face twisted in unreadable emotion as he watches his one remaining tribute. When he turns back to Letha, he slowly starts to smile up at her. "Yes, I'll join you…but first," Johan sighs as he stands up, staring over at his tribute on the monitor for a few seconds before turning back to Letha. "I have to try and get her something. _Anything._ "

* * *

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten_

All Jinx can feel right now is fear and pain. Pain from her bleeding knees, her pants and skin torn away from repeatedly tripping over herself as she tries to run away from Stark and the others, the blood dripping down her legs. Pain from her legs screaming at her as she races up the steps of the building, her legs heavy and threatening to give out at any moment. Pain from her lungs burning with each breath, but she can't stop now. Not until she knows that she is safe from Stark.

But will she ever be safe from him? She saw the rage in his eyes. She has never felt this terrified for her life. Not even after killing the boy was she as terrified. There was a chance of getting away then. But now? The only way out of this is killing him and she doesn't have any weapon.

She glances over her shoulder as she reaches the third floor of the building, simply unable to go up another step. Through the walls made of glass, she can see Stark running towards the building, getting too close. She scrambles towards the door, flinging it open and letting out a gasp of surprise when it slams into the wall and shatters. Someone screams nearby at the sound, a tiny voice followed by a whimper, as she spares a quick glance back and can tell right away that Stark has heard the sound as he glances up at the building and she forces herself up the flight of stairs, trying to get away from the evidence of her in this building. She clutches the railing, using it to pull herself up one more flight of stairs, all while constantly looking back down at the ground to watch Stark to know if he's approaching.

At the fourth landing, she carefully opens the door this time, not wanting to repeat what happened before and finds herself in a hallway lined with numbered doors. She jogs down the hallway before opening the door marked 411 and opens the door to find herself in an apartment where she can see down to the ground floor. Nervously, she steps out onto the glass floor, almost certain that at any point the glass will start to crack and she'll plummet down. But it remains solid as a wave of anxiety passes through her from seeing through to the ground far below her.

But it's not as much anxiety as she gets from seeing Stark entering the building so she closes the door as quickly as she can behind her without breaking it. She leans against it for a moment, trying to catch her breath. She's so winded that she can't even find the air to nervously laugh at the situation she got herself into.

She hopes Sally and Johan are proud of her… She survived the bloodbath and managed to take out four tributes! Five if you count the one Stark killed from the bead he caught. And with how many cannons fired, she knows the others kept fighting after she left. She's already almost made it to the halfway point and they're at this point because of what she did. She was the one that did whatever it took to make it out of the bloodbath alive, just like Johan told her to do.

But she made Stark so angry… Jinx nervously lets out a single laugh at this before coughing as her lungs struggle to get enough oxygen. She stumbles into the apartment, looking around at the furniture made of glass and mirrors. She catches a glimpse of herself as she starts walking into the room, shocked to see how bloody her legs are. If she was back home…Sally would have helped her clean up her scraped knees. Sally was always caring for her back home, more than her father ever was when he was actually home…

Thinking about Sally makes her eyes start stinging as much as her scrapped up legs and she comes to a stop, wishing she had Sally with her. Everything she's done so far has been for Sally and she has to get back home to her. But she currently has a very angry career chasing after her. "What do I do, Sally?" Jinx whispers, knowing she won't get a response.

But Jinx shuts her eyes and can almost picture in her head what Sally would say if she was here. _'Jinx, what did you do?! We need to clean up your knees before you get an infection!'_

Just picturing Sally in her head brings a smile to her face and momentarily calms the anxiousness coursing through her, until she opens her eyes and realizes Sally isn't there. She almost starts frowning, but knows that Sally is watching and doesn't want to make her upset. "I should find bandages," Jinx says aloud, wanting Sally to know she is being a good girl and knows what to do.

Jinx makes her way to the bedroom of the small apartment, continuously glancing back down to try and see where Stark is, but the hallways and stairways only reflect back at her, preventing her from seeing the career. Maybe he went to a different building? She can only hope.

But in the bedroom, she finds an uncomfortable looking bed of glass, but with a thin blanket over it. Across the room is a closed door, one that she hopes is a bathroom stocked with supplies. She makes her way across, wincing at the pain and nervously giggling at her boots squeaking against the glass floor. She stops for a moment, being able to hear a faint hint of whimpering in the building and she looks around, unable to find the source. But they have to be close…maybe she'll find them once Stark is gone.

 _But she doesn't have any weapons._

Jinx giggles again as she looks around, trying to think of what she could use. Maybe in the small kitchen there will be something? Maybe someone will sponsor her? Surely Johan will send her something…he's been so nice to her and helping her out… And he said he would do everything he can to help her. "Hey Johan…" Jinx giggles at the awkwardness of talking to no one as she looks around the room, knowing there are always cameras following the tributes, but unable to see them. "Do you…think you can get me a weapon?" She giggles again at the question before grinning a little at the thought of her mentor. "The coolest one!"

Jinx stares around the room, waiting for her mentor to respond and give her a gift…but she's left in silence broken only by her anxious giggles. Slowly, her smile starts to disappear as the seconds pass and she starts to realize that she's on her own… Johan isn't helping her…

Jinx tries not to let herself feel sadness at the realization that her mentor has abandoned her, forcing herself to giggle and go back to finding bandages. Surely he hasn't abandoned her…he said he would help her…

By time Jinx reaches the bathroom, her thoughts have grown dark and away from Stark to her mentor to the point that she yanks open the cabinet door in the tiny bathroom, trying not to let her anger consume her. "Why didn't he help me…" She mutters to herself as she finds a small box with only one antiseptic wipe and three tiny bandages in it. "He promised he would…"

Jinx slams the cabinet door shut, cringing and giggling at the noise it makes, but at least it doesn't shatter. She waits a moment before going back into the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling up her pant legs to expose her scratched up knees, the wounds filled with gravel from the pavement. Gently she starts picking out pieces of stone, giggling in pain with each piece she removes. But it's easier to focus on cleaning her scratched up knees than the realization that Johan has abandoned her…

But as Jinx rips open the bandages, she freezes when she hears two different sets of beeping noises… Wait, three, if she listens close enough. One from the closet in the room she sits in, one from the room below her, where she can see a small package sitting there, with a large red '2' on it, and then one that sounds like it's coming from a few rooms away from her. The sight of the gift for Stark makes her freeze up and start looking around, but she can't see him through the glass…all she sees is her own reflection looking back at her. But if she can hear the beeping from a floor below her, who's to say someone can't hear the beeping in her room?

Wait…beeping…?

Jinx jumps up from the bed, abandoning her knees partway through bandaging them to run over to the closet door, pulling open both doors to find a large package sitting at the bottom of the mirrored closet, a large red '10' on it. "I knew you would help me!" Jinx says before giggling with excitement as she drops down to the floor to open up the package as it stops beeping now that its recipient has found it. Surely a package this large must be a weapon. She sure hopes it's the coolest one!

She pops open the top of the package and finds a piece of paper sitting on top of a huge looking weapon completely different from what she normally sees in the Games, complete with three orange missiles. "Woah…" Jinx says with a giggle of awe as she runs a hand over the weapon before picking up the piece of paper.

' _I made a deal with someone who was willing to pay a lot of money to sponsor this to you… Be careful, you've made a lot of enemies, both in the arena and outside of it.'_

Lots of enemies? What's that supposed to mean? Jinx doesn't spend much time thinking about it, too excited as she picks up the weapon, finding it lighter than she anticipated and perfect size for her. Wow, a weapon like this must have cost a fortune…and someone was willing to get it for her! People must want her to win then!

As Jinx starts to pick up a missile to load the weapon, she starts to freeze as she realizes one set of beeping has fallen silent…

Slowly, she clamps a hand over her mouth to prevent any sound from getting out as she turns around to look back at the source of beeping below her. Or rather, where there had been another source of beeping.

Instead, now stands a very angry looking career as he opens up the package sent to him.

Jinx bites her tongue to hold in the anxious giggle she so badly wants to let out as fear makes her heart start racing. She moves her hand from her mouth slowly, biting down even harder on her tongue to keep from making a sound as she goes back to loading up the weapon. Will this fire through the glass floor and hit Stark? She can only hope so…and she only has a limited amount of time to fire it before he looks up and sees her there.

Stark rips open the package as Jinx slides in the missile, oh so carefully putting the cover into place and trying not to let it click as it's locked into place. She waits until Stark snaps his package shut to close it and holds her breath and bites down even harder on her tongue, starting to feel the metallic taste of blood as she waits for him to notice her. But he's too busy opening the small pouch in his hand and pulling out a small round object that has him scowling immediately. "Is this some fucking joke? What the hell Bronn, this isn't funny!"

Stark whips the bead down to the floor in anger and starts to turn back to the door, but freezes with his hand on the doorknob. Jinx is forced to let out the breath she holds as she puts the weapon up onto her shoulder to aim down at Stark. She brings her finger over the trigger, not even thinking about what might happen after she fires the weapon, just knowing that she has to stop him before he sees her. Because if she can see him, surely he can see her.

Slowly, Stark turns back around and looks at where the bead has rolled to a stop. He leans his head to the side, seemingly listening to something – like the faint sobs that have replaced the third source of beeping – before glancing around the room, curious look on his face that slowly turns to realization and a smirk starts to form. "Bronn, you clever man," Stark says, looking around the room again but being unable to find her. He glances down at the floor to the room below before his eyes pan back up to the room he's in. Jinx takes a sharp intake of breath as Stark starts to turn his gaze upwards and she squints one eye as she aims at him, ready to fire it the moment that he sees her.

She waits and waits, the seconds slowly ticking away, until he is staring right up at her, expression not changing on his face and making Jinx tense up, finger still hovering over the trigger to fire at him. His head tilts even more as he scrunches his eyebrows, turning his head while still looking up at the ceiling. His lack of action has Jinx slowly looking up at the ceiling above her, confused about why he hasn't yelled about seeing her yet. As she looks up, she tries her hardest to hold in a laugh, but she can't help the smallest sound that escapes from her. She clasps a hand over her mouth as Stark runs out of the room and towards a sound in the building.

 _Oh no._

* * *

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

As the three remaining careers sit on the steps leading up to what is the Justice Building in the mirrored arena, an uncomfortable silence sits over them as they all stare down at the cornucopia and the six craters surrounding it. The hovercrafts have been long gone since they picked up the bodies – and what remained of those six… – yet blood still stains the ground. All three of them were responsible for some of the blood, but not the destruction caused by one crazy little girl.

She knows it's going to hit her soon that she killed someone and she's just trying to push that off as long as possible. She does not need those feelings complicating things even more than they already are. But she saved a life by killing someone, so maybe the eventually guilt will get balanced out…right? Only thing Muir knows for sure is that when in doubt, best just to deal with it at a later time. Her mentor would tell her to push any stupid emotions aside and focus on winning. She doesn't think she can do the former, but she can do the latter. The sooner she's out of here, the better.

Muir glances over to her left, finding the eyes of her friend – no, her _ally_ , she can't start thinking of Pyrite as a friend – as they stare down at the knife they slowly turn in their hands. Despite wiping off the blade, there's still a bit of blood staining it and their hands and they can't seem to stop staring down at it. Muir hesitates as she wants to ask Pyrite if they're okay but also not wanting to bring it up in front of Ampora… Pyrite looks up at her and gives a small forced smile, but Muir can see that their eyes are haunted by what they saw and did. But they were just doing what they had to do, right…?

Instead of dealing with that thought, Muir turns to look over at Ampora on her right as the girl slowly and methodically wipes her already very clean katana that shines just as brightly as the mirrors around them in the sun. Muir had expected her to storm out from the cornucopia to start hunting tributes, yet she's stayed put where they first sat to allow the hovercrafts to come in. Ampora briefly glances up at Muir, but soon turns back to cleaning her spotless blade.

Muir has no idea why her two allies are looking to her for advice. She still can barely even process the catastrophe that was the start of the Games. She didn't even _see_ what happened like Pyrite and Ampora…didn't see what happened to two of their allies, along with four other tributes.

All she knows is that she's ready to get out of here already. Only one hour into the Games and she's already wishing she was back home.

"Okay," Muir finally says, tired of just sitting on the steps up to the Justice Building with Pyrite and Ampora and just doing nothing but stare down at the mess that was the City Circle. She just wants to be home… Her two allies look over at her, mixed expressions on their faces as Ampora raises one eyebrow in curiosity while Pyrite gives her a numb look. "So…the elephant in the room… We just got _wrecked_."

Ampora scoffs at this while Pyrite nods their head in agreement, "Yeah that's a bit of an understatement."

"I suppose it could have been worse…" Pyrite says quietly, turning to look down again at the wreckage. "It's crazy to think that we're almost at the halfway point and it's only been one hour."

"Hey that means we're already almost halfway there to getting home," Muir points out, doing her best to ignore the fact that there's still eleven more tributes that have to die before she can get home…and two of them are right next to her. "And we're still alive. _And_ the alliance that was a threat to us is broken up."

"What alliances are even left?" Ampora asks them and they sit in silence for a minute, just staring out at the cornucopia as they think of what tributes still remain. "What alliances were there in the first place?"

"Stark, Keelin, and Jinx," Pyrite says softly before clearing their throat as Muir and Ampora both look over at them. "But I think it's safe to say that alliance has ended."

Muir gets the faintest hint of a smile at their joke while Ampora chuckles, probably because of Stark's misfortune. "Yeah, I'd say so… There was also Beta and his alliance."

"The girl was near Jinx…" Pyrite tells them, clearing their throat again as they look away, but not before Muir can see that they're going to be carrying that trauma with them for a while. "Not sure what happened to the boy…"

"He was next to Stark," Muir answers quietly, having been able to see the explosion that happened there and just one is enough to leave her scarred. She can't imagine witnessing all of the tributes exploding…

"Oh," Pyrite says in response as they stare at the two craters on either side of where Stark stood, getting their answer. "So Beta's on his own then."

"I think his District partner had an ally, but she's dead too," Ampora mentions, giving a shrug when they look over at her. "Not sure about the boy. Nine? Maybe Ten? I don't know and don't really care at this point."

"Not Nine," Muir tells her while shaking her head. She knows who is the boy from Nine, having killed the tribute that was trying to kill him… "He's the one with the drama with his mentor."

"Right, that one," Ampora shakes her head and laughs a bit. "Bold move, but I respect it. But he had an ally, right?"

"Yeah, the girl from Seven and I'm pretty sure she made it out alive," Muir tells them, trying to think back to what happened once the gong sounded, but after she threw that knife, she focused on anything but the tributes right there, wanting to forget the sight of blood pouring out a wound that she caused. "I think the only other alliance was that boy from Five and the girl from Six, but she's…she's the one I killed."

A silence falls over the three of them again until Pyrite clears their throat to get their attention. "So what you're saying is that there's only two alliances left and we're one of them."

"I guess so…" Muir says, just as surprised as Pyrite is at that realization. And if they're one of two alliances left, that means the Gamemakers are going to be looking to them to keep the action going…and they're just sitting here talking.

 _Boom._

They all look around at the sound of the cannon firing and Muir lets out a sigh at it. Someone is out there doing what they should be doing right now. "Okay we're not almost halfway, we _are_ halfway. We need to get moving."

"Move where?" Pyrite asks in confusion before realization passes over their face. "Oh…yeah."

Ampora stands up at this statement, seemingly waiting for Muir to say the word. She slides her katana into the sheath strung across her back as she stares down at them. "I say we hunt down Stark or Kilroy. They're our biggest threats."

"Kilroy is long gone," Pyrite responds as they stand up and brush off their pants before holding out a hand to pull Muir up. They point directly in front of them to the tallest building in the arena, the Games Headquarters. "She took off that way and if she's in that building, it's going to take all day to find her."

"And Stark is probably royally pissed off at Jinx," Muir adds, assuming from the way he acted in training towards them rejecting him as an ally that he'll respond the same to his former ally taking out so many tributes. "But maybe he'll find Jinx for us."

"So who are we supposed to find then?" Ampora asks, sounding just a little annoyed that they aren't going after Stark. "In case you haven't noticed, there aren't many tributes left."

"Yes," Muir says slowly, trying to figure out her thoughts. She doesn't like this role that they're putting on her, making her be the leader. She thought Pyrite would be the one stepping up to this, but one look at them shows that they're not in the right frame of mind right now for that. So if it will get Muir home sooner…she'll do it. "But it's only been one hour. Surely they couldn't have gotten too far. Most of the survivors were on the south side of the cornucopia, so we should head that way."

"I'll stay back to watch the supplies," Pyrite speaks up, bringing the attention of the two girls onto them. "Someone needs to make sure we don't lose supplies."

Muir stares at them, knowing there's more that they want to say, but she chooses not to mention it yet. "Are you sure? There are still two threats out there and you'll be on your own."

"Two threats that are focused on other tributes or staying far from us," Pyrite points out as they try to give Muir a confident smile. "I'll be fine, at most I would be facing two untrained tributes."

"Okay," Muir says slowly as Ampora starts jogging down the steps, clearly in a hurry to get moving. Muir hesitates to follow her, knowing that there's more that Pyrite isn't saying. "Are you sure you're fine staying here?" Muir asks quietly as she leans closer to Pyrite, watching Ampora to make sure their ally doesn't overhear.

"Yeah…" Pyrite answers quietly, but Muir can hear their voice shaking a little. They stare at Ampora for a minute as she starts rummaging through their supplies, grabbing some more knives and another katana to bring with her, before they finally turn to look over at Muir, not hiding the doubt and confusion in their eyes. "It's just…they were the same age as my brother and I keep picturing him here instead…"

"Oh…" Muir answers, not sure what else she can say to Pyrite right now. She's never had any siblings, so how can she know what it's like to feel guilty about killing someone the same age as them? But she does know what it's like to kill…and it's a sickly feeling in her stomach that she keeps trying to ignore. Muir puts a hand on Pyrite's shoulder and tries to give them a comforting smile, but she's sure it must be more of a grimace. "I'm sorry…but just keep reminding yourself that it wasn't him. And you just did what you have to do."

But Muir can see that what she said wasn't the right thing to say as Pyrite immediately grimaces before looking around and trying to keep their face clear. "Right… The right thing to do…"

"Are we going or what?" Ampora calls up to Muir, putting her hands on her hips and growing more impatient with each passing second.

"Yeah just a minute," Muir calls down to her, trying not to get annoyed by her being impatient. She understands wanting to get out of the arena as soon as possible…but she also doesn't particularly want to kill again. But like she told Pyrite, it's what they have to do… She turns back to Pyrite, finding her ally avoiding her gaze. "Are you sure you're fine staying here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Pyrite answers softly, finally bringing their gaze over to Muir's. They try to smile a little at her in an attempt to reassure her. "Some alone time to think will be good for me. So go, help us get closer to ending this."

"Right," Muir responds, still hesitating for a second as she stares at Pyrite, unsure about leaving them behind. But they jokingly start waving them down towards Ampora, smiling a bit more at her and Muir forces herself to push back her concerns for Pyrite. She needs to keep doing that…she has to keep reminding herself that all she needs to focus on right now is getting herself home alive so she can finally be with her father. "Stay safe."

"You too," Pyrite answers right away before Muir starts down the stairs towards their impatient ally.

At the bottom, Muir grabs a bag and a few things of food before swinging it onto her shoulders. She picks up her spear with one hand and with the other, she grabs onto the ring hanging from the necklace she wears. As she looks around at the arena surrounding them, starting to feel intimidated by the large buildings looming over them, she grips the ring even tighter, forcing herself to remember why she's here.

She's going to win this. For her mother. For her father. And also for herself so she can finally get some happiness in her life for the first time in two years.

But she finds herself looking back up at her ally standing on the steps up to the Justice Building and she has to push back the traitorous thoughts pushing their way into her brain. She's enjoyed getting to know Pyrite…but only one of them is making it out of this arena alive. And she needs to make sure that person is her.

"Let's go find some tributes."

* * *

 **Well David, a promise is a promise, and Jinx finally got her nerf bazooka.**

 **Here we go, Day One! Just a reminder that I'll be posting the eulogies for the night chapters so you'll have to wait and see who that cannon was for. So here's some of the aftermath of the bloodbath! I'll once again be doing one mentor POV per chapter because I just love my victors.**

 **RQ #21:** What would be the coolest weapon you would ask for as a sponsor gift?

 **Alrighty, I will see you next time for Night One! Hopefully that will be up somewhat soon but we're about to hit the really busy part of my semester so we'll see.**


	28. Night One: Stormy Sea of Emotion

**Trigger warning: brief mentions of sexual assault at the start of the first tribute POV.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25:**

 _Dampero Ramin, Victor of the 108_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Dampero would rather be anywhere else than here, sitting in the mentor room and watching as the anthem plays and the faces of all the dead tributes are shown. He would rather be talking to the terrible crowds of Capitolites, bloodthirsty as they try to change the course of the Games. There was already so much death in just one day… The career boys from One and Four – deaths he would have been happy to see happen in a different year – the girl from Three, both from Five, the boys from Seven and Eight, the girl from Nine. Then there was the girl from Eleven, discovered by Stark while he hunted down Jinx, allowing the girl who caused all this to escape from him…at least, escape for now. The career is still trying to hunt her down, but he isn't getting any additional clues from Bronn. And then…then there's both of the tributes from Six… _His_ tribute…

There is one place he doesn't want to be right now. And that's back home in District Six where he would have to face his friend and tell her how he failed the promise he made to her…

 _He's a failure._

Dampero puts his face in his hands, refusing to look over at the screens any longer. He wishes they would let him leave this place, yet at the same time, for once he is glad the mentors are trapped in the Capitol until the Games end. But how long will that even be? They're already at the halfway point. Will it be only a couple days? Or will the Gamemakers do whatever it takes to make the Games last longer? He hopes it's the latter. Anything to put off facing Odani Hideki.

"Do…do you need space?"

Dampero moves away one hand just enough to glance over and see his former mentor and friend sitting on the arm of his chair, staring down at him in concern. Dampero sighs and moves his hands to sit back in the chair to look at Embla fully. "Does it ever get easier?"

"Not at all," Embla shakes her head at him before gently pushing him over in the chair so she can squeeze next to him, despite the armchair not being meant for two people. She puts an arm around him and rubs his shoulder, trying to provide him some sort of comfort, but the gesture just makes him feel worse. He doesn't deserve her sympathy. Not after he was a failure.

"It's all my fault…" Dampero whispers to her, turning away so she can't see the tears forming in his eyes, even if she's seen him at his very worst. She's always been there, from the moment he stepped foot on that stage five years ago to the moment he first got home and finally broke from all the death he caused to losing his tribute in each subsequent year. Yet none of the others have hurt him like this. "I promised his sister I would bring him home," he whispers to her as the first tear finally slips down his cheek and he tries to wipe it away discretely before any of the other mentors around can see him like this.

"Look at me," Embla tells him, but he just shakes his head as he avoids her. "I said look at me," she commands again as she grabs his chin and forces him to look at her. Seeing the fire in her eyes brings him back to the train rides in his own year when he was both terrified and awed by one of Six's two victors. "This is not your fault," she starts, emphasizing each word to get it through to him. "It's not your fault and it's not mine and it's not Johan's fault, contrary to what Okeanas still thinks in that thick skull of hers."

Dampero looks around with wide eyes at this statement, certain that Embla's comment is going to bring Okeanas' rage towards them, but she's nowhere to be found. Several victors are nowhere to be found and Dampero knows he should be with them trying to get sponsors. "But I was his mentor."

"Yes, and you did what you could to mentor him before the Games," Embla answers, bringing his attention back to her. "Dampero…" She sighs as she lets go of his face and the fire in her eyes disappears, leaving a look reflecting what's going on in him. "You need to learn sooner than later that there's only so much we can do for them. We can try all we want to aid them and give them strategy and get what little sponsors we can. But at some point…it's up to them to survive."

"But they didn't even get the chance!" Dampero's voice wavers as it increases in volume, bringing over the watery gaze of Letha, only making him feel worse for further upsetting the new victor. He lowers his voice, but the wavering is still present. "They died before even getting the chance to try and win."

"And that's the case for a handful of tributes each year. There's always some that never make it past the start. That's why it's called a bloodbath… With time, you'll find it's easier to lose them at the start before you can start to get hope in you that maybe this year it will be the year that they actually win." Embla takes a shaky breath before shutting her eyes and leaning her head on his shoulder, surprising him as she's normally the one comforting him, acting almost as a second mother to him. "Because it's very rare that they actually win. I spent twenty years waiting for someone else to win. So trust me, it's easier to not have that hope. It will hurt less when they inevitable die. Trust me, Dampero."

She may be right…but he can't think that this year. Dampero knows that he didn't just lose Ryo. He's also lost his best friend.

* * *

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

Beta has known deep sadness before, the kind that has made it feel like his heart was ripped out. Sadness that has hung around him for months on end, wrapped like a vice around his chest and making the things he once found enjoyable no longer bring that spark of happiness. He lost his sister when he was only ten. His best friend just…gone in two days times and no potions he made could save her. Nothing could have prepared him for that loss, yet he dug himself out of all-consuming grief. He found focus on bringing her soul back and save her from her untimely release. He knows it wasn't time for Copper to leave him and he knows he'll get her back someday. And he holds onto that knowledge, using it as a bandage against the grief locked deep inside him.

Beta has known deep rage before, fiery hot anger that burnt through him rapidly. Anger that clouded his vision and only kept him focused on one thing: revenge. Revenge against the inhuman people that forced themselves on Tracer, taking away so much from them and dimming their light. He had wanted nothing more than to see them experience the pain they inflicted on his only friend, see them destroyed for ever hurting such a kind and gentle soul. But the rage burnt out quickly after they got their revenge. He cast the curses and Tracer has been healing since then. They have moved past the anger together.

But never has Beta experienced grief and rage together like this. All he can focus on as he gasps for air between deep sobs that cause his chest to ache is the image replaying over and over again of the explosions that took away his friends. Over and over and over again, hearing the screams before they were suddenly cut off with a bang. Beta has known death before. He has looked at death before and seen it's many faces and remained unflinching from blood and pain. But he was not prepared for the face death would wear this time as it took away his two friends.

Beta clutches the glass railing of the staircase as he gasps for air around his sobs and he leans against it, struggling to keep it together to keep pulling himself up the stairs to the roof. The thought of the cool night air on his face beneath the growing moonlight has been the only thing keeping him together, yet his legs are as heavy as his chest and he doesn't know if he can take one more step.

"Why?" Beta gasps as his tears fall onto his glasses, causing it to blur and remind him of life before he ever received them. Life before he had gained two new friends in such a short time and had them ripped away from him just as quickly. "WHY?!" Beta shouts, bringing his head up to stare through the glass ceiling to darkening sky. He can see the first star appearing as he stands there, staring up at the star as hot tears fall down his cheeks and start causing damp spots to slowly grow in size on his shirt. Why were Ryo and Gwenith taken away already? He knows the Hunger Games are to release spirits…but he thought he would have more time with them. "They weren't ready to leave," Beta whispers to himself as he legs finally give out and he falls down in a heap on the stairs, only a few steps away from making it onto the roof.

Beta lays back on the stairs, clutching his aching chest as he keeps staring up at the sky, struggling to even process the events of the day. He doesn't even remember making it to this building. He just ran and ran like someone else was in control of him until he finally picked a building to enter. But as he started to wander the halls and slowly began to recognize the smells and sights of the hospital, the walls just felt like they were closing in around him, reminding him all too much of the worst 48 hours of his life. All he could do was find the nearest stairwell and just run and run and run up them, desperate to get to the roof.

If those were the worst hours of his life, this arena surely must be his own personal hell that's haunted by a giggling girl.

The Panem anthem suddenly starts blaring through the arena and Beta shakily brings his hands up to cover his ears. "It's too loud," he groans as he rolls over onto his side, but he keeps his head turned up at the Capitol seal being displayed in the sky, unable to look away from it. Just like he had been unable to turn away from the destruction happening this afternoon.

One by one, the faces of souls released from the world are shown up in the sky, and Beta can't help but stare at each one and memorize each detail, tucking them away into his memory. He doesn't know why, but he can't stop himself.

The boy from One, the first victim of Death, one that Beta is…grateful isn't the word as he could never be grateful for something that Death did, but…he's glad he's dead as he would have been a threat to him.

Then there's Digit's face and Beta stares up at her face, knowing the pressure that is now placed on him as District Three's only shot at victory. Digit was polite to him in their shared time together and while he's not sadden at her death, he will work to honor it. After all, she did volunteer to have her soul released in the Games.

Then there is Lincoln, the boy from Four who was simply unlucky. Beta simply blinks at his face, unbothered at the death of a career who caused his own death accidentally.

The pair from District Five pass quickly as Beta's tears start to slow. After all, these were people that laughed at him. The girl especially deserved her death for allying with Death.

But the tears are back in an instant, burning his eyes as the image switches to Ryo. Beta struggles against the sobs as he stares up at his friend's smiling face, knowing this will be the last time he sees his face. Ryo was so kind to him in training and they were friends…until he was ripped away from him.

Beta can barely see the faces of the following tributes, his eyes too blurred by tears, but he does his best to watch them to know who is still left. Ryo's partner…the boys from Seven and Eight… But then Gwenith is shown and Beta simply curls up further, fighting to hold it all together. "I don't understand," Beta sobs to himself as the final face is shown, the young girl from Eleven.

Then the pictures fade away and Beta digs his fingernails into his palm as he stares up at the sky darkening after the last image and can feel the trickle of blood falling down his scarred skin. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They had a _plan_. Beta was going to get supplies for them, no matter what it took, and the three of them were going to get away together and find somewhere to hide and set up traps to take out any tributes that got too close. Beta was going to protect them until it was time for their souls to be released and he would keep fighting on, knowing it was necessary.

So why does it hurt so much despite him knowing it would never end with the three of them alive? Why is he filled with such debilitating grief and rage? They would have had to die eventually for him to make it back home to Tracer. So why is this different?

 _He didn't get to say goodbye_.

Beta slowly sits up at the realization and a calmness from knowing the reason spreads over him, just barely masking the grief and rage in him. When he felt this deep grief before, he got to say goodbye to Copper, even if she wasn't supposed to die then. He was there by her hospital bed, clutching her weak hand right up until the end. But he never got to say goodbye to his friends. When he was filled with this rage before, he found a way to get revenge against those that hurt his friend. They cast curses together against those terrible people, slowly starting the healing process for Tracer.

But he has not yet gotten his revenge for these two friends.

It's so obvious to Beta now and his focus is completely trained onto one person. The new face of Death. She must pay for what she did to him today. _No one_ hurts his friends and gets away with it. But how? What special curse should he cast on her? Oh how he wishes he had his notebook with him, but Tracer needs it more than him. No matter, he knows every page front to back, but it will be hard not having it there to triple check every step.

What would be the most painful death for her? Falling into a pit and dying? Death by dysentery? Poisoned? So many different options available to him…but which one is the worst? It's what she deserves for taking away his two friends.

And he'll make sure she gets what she deserves. But first, he needs some supplies so he can cast this curse. After that, it's just a matter of cursing the remaining tributes until he wins and can get back home to Tracer so they can finally figure out how to bring Copper back. Surely with the money from victory and access to the Capitol they'll find some spellbook that contains the answer that's escaped him so far.

Another thought slowly starts to trickle in to his brain and once in there, there's no way he can let go of it. Why hasn't he been successful yet at bringing Copper back? He's tried so many different spells and potions, given blood sacrifices and more but to no avail. But what if he wasn't giving enough? What if he needed to give _more_? Something that is readily available to him in this arena and no one will blink an eye at his actions?

With a jump Beta is on his feet once more and he gently takes off his glasses and uses the edge of his shirt to clean them off before he lightly hops down the steps. He pushes open the door on the first landing he comes across, his mind focused on only one thought. The ages aren't quite right, but surely a few months difference in age won't matter. It has to not matter because there's no one left in the arena that was the age Copper would have been.

He's certain it won't matter. Death will be the perfect sacrifice, the last piece of the puzzle he couldn't quite figure out back home on how to bring his sister back to him. A life for a life, even one as wicked as that life…

Beta can feel his lips turning up in a hint of a smile as comes across a door marked 'Operating Suite' and pushes it open, pausing to stare at the stainless steel surgical tools all shining in the harsh light, just waiting for someone to come take them. He carefully steps into the room and towards the table with tools lined up and examines them carefully. The table looks as if it's ready for someone to get revenge, not have surgery, covered in various saws and hammers. But Beta finds his hand reaching for a small scalpel, knowing this type of work will require precise runes drawn into skin and one small slip could mean failure.

And he can't fail. Not when he finally has the solutions he's searched the past six years for to bring back Copper. And especially not when the solution will give him the best cure for his rage.

"I'm not afraid of Death," Beta says to himself as he tests the sharpness of the scalpel, just letting it run across the tip of his finger with no pressure aside from its own weight placed on it. He watches the thin line of blood start forming right away as the cut stings, yet he doesn't flinch or look away from it. After all, pain is a necessary part of some spells and he is about to cast the biggest spell of his life. He will get his vengeance for his friends and finally bring his sister back to him. "This is revenge I'm looking forward to."

* * *

 _Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight_

How does one learn to accept their death? How can one person even cope with being told they have days to live and not have even a glimmer of hope that they may survive? Kilroy hasn't managed to figure out the answer to either of those questions yet, and she's starting to think she will never get the chance.

She stares out the windows of the games headquarters at the night sky, no longer illuminated by all the faces of the dead. Yet she can still see an image up there, but it's not the faces of the eleven that have died in just one day.

She keeps seeing her own face.

How many days left until her face is in the sky? Surely very few since they've already reached the halfway point. She thought she would have more time to live, maybe make it to the top ten before the Gamemakers inevitably send something after her to bring about her death. But the top ten is only one more death away.

She turns her gaze away from the night sky, blinking rapidly to force back the tears that are always lurking and ready to fall, ever since Drusa's death. What has she done to deserve this? To lose the person she might have loved if they had more time together and then so recently after be forced to face her own death. She doesn't deserve this. Sure, she's done bad things in her life with the gang, but she's never killed anyone. She's never wanted to, especially after seeing death first hand. Surely a little bit of stealing and blackmail doesn't warrant a death sentence broadcast live as entertainment for the Capitol.

Kilroy takes a shaky breath in and shuts her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing to fight back the breakdown she's been so close to having all day, ever since she started witnessing so much death. It became all too real that she might be next once tributes started falling around her. Yet she can't let herself break. Not when everyone is watching her back home. She has to give her parents some sort of hope that she'll make it through this alive. She'll go out fighting, letting them believe she tried her best.

She slowly opens her eyes as she keeps taking deep breaths and her eyes focus in on the fire raging in the distance at the other end of the Avenue of the Tributes. Only the careers would be foolish enough to light a fire and give off the beacon of light that screams 'Here I am!' Yet why should they fear other tributes? They're the ones that have trained for this. They're the ones that are supposed to do the hunting at the start of the Games and keep the Capitol entertained until the other tributes start becoming desperate enough to start killing.

They're the ones that would hunt down a tribute who earned a higher score than them. And she ran to a building while in plain sight of them.

Kilroy tenses up as she stares into the distance as her stomach starts to sink and she just knows she's staring her death in the face. Surely the Gamemakers will send the three trained tributes after her. Guarantee her death by skilled tributes while also giving the crowd exactly what they want: a fight between the highest scoring tribute and the careers.

And she's just doing nothing aside from being a sitting duck. What if the fire is just a trick? Make the tributes think that they're tucked in for the night when really they're out hunting tributes? Are they hunting her down right now?

Kilroy scrambles to her feet and pulls out her knife as her heartrate starts to quicken. She squints to see better in the darkness inside the building, but the few lights from outside just make everything cast shadows in the room. She slowly starts shuffling forward, knife held out in front of her as she stares around the floor resembling where the District Eight team had been staying, no longer finding comfort in the familiar surroundings.

She knows she shouldn't be this paranoid, yet she can't help it as she enters the empty kitchen, moving her hand around in front of her. She doesn't stop until she has searched through the entire floor and doesn't find anyone. She lets out a shaky breath as she returns to her spot and leans against the glass wall, trying to calm down her racing heart. She hates this. She hates this so much, just sitting around and waiting for her death.

That's not how she wants to die. She doesn't want her remaining days spent in fear. And she promised her mentor that she would go out with a bang – although she's glad she didn't literally go out with a bang earlier today. She will not just wait for someone to come kill her. If she's going to die, she might as well try to take out her killer with her.

"That's enough of waiting around," she whispers to herself and pushes herself off from the glass. She grabs her bag and swings it onto her shoulder before moving almost silently through the floor towards the stairway, still not trusting that there isn't someone lurking and waiting. Once in the stairwell, she looks up and down, unsure about moving yet. She turns back into the District Eight floor and grabs a glass vase before returning to the stairs and dropping it. The shattering of the glass echoes through the stairwell and Kilroy presses her back to the wall, waiting to hear if anyone is going to investigate it.

One minute passes…two, three, yet she doesn't move yet. Not until at least twenty minutes of silence have passed before she finally starts moving down the stairs softly. She's been a damn fool. How many hours has she spent staring out the window of the eighth floor instead of going to the other floors in this building? How could she have been so _stupid_ to not realize what might be located in this building. They've gone to great lengths to replicate the floors each tribute stayed on in the Capitol. Who's to say they haven't replicated _everything_ in this building? Like say…the training center?

Despite not hearing any sounds after dropping the vase, she still proceeds cautiously down the staircase, hesitating at each new landing and holding her knife towards each door, still not trusting there isn't another tribute or some terrible Gamemaker trap waiting for her. Down and down she goes until she reaches the shattered remains of the vase she dropped. Yet there's no further staircase down, forcing her to leave out the door to the ground floor where she entered.

Kilroy can feel her palms sweating as she slowly opens the door, waiting for it to start squeaking and notify anyone nearby that she is there. Yet it remains silent and she hesitates before going through it, half expecting to get a knife in her chest if she steps foot. And that would be a real stupid way to die. So she throws her bag a few feet through the door, still in her sight, but hopefully enough that any tribute waiting would attack that first or try to grab it. She waits in the doorway, gripping her knife so tightly her knuckles go white, and minutes keep ticking by. Yet she stays put for who knows how long, refusing to go through the door yet. And she knows why and it's a feeling she isn't used to.

Fear.

So she stays put as the minutes tick by, all too afraid to die. "This is stupid," she mutters to herself, trying to get herself to be as brave as she used to be back home in Eight. But back home there wasn't ten other tributes trying to kill her so they could get out alive.

Finally, she takes a breath and slowly peeks her head out, growing tired of standing put with her muscles tense. The ground floor is better illuminated than her floor was and it's easy for her to look around and realize she's truly alone. She lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before picking up her bag and walking over to the elevator doors. She had tried them earlier, yet pressing the buttons didn't do anything. But she thinks it's the only way down to the training center. She tries once again, yet nothing happens, just as she expected.

Kilroy takes a step back, staring at the doors for a minute and thinking about her next step. She keeps glancing around, hating having her back to the main door as she plans her next move. She has to get down that elevator.

She steps forward and sticks her knife between the two doors and tries to pry them open. When they don't budge, she grabs the hilt with both hands and puts all her weight into it, until she hears a snap and she falls backward to the ground. "Fuck," she says quietly as she tries to catch her breath from it getting knocked out of her. She brings the knife up in front of her face and curses again when she only has a hilt left and no blade. "That worked really well."

Kilroy sighs as she sits up and stares at the elevator doors, finding them still firmly shut. And now she doesn't have any weapon. She absolutely has to get downstairs. She has no other choice now. If she can't pry the door open, she'll have to do things the way Faustus would. The thought of her friend brings a smile to her for a brief second before focusing on getting down to weapons. She glances around the room, trying to find something that will break through the glass doors. But everything is made out of glass and surely going to shatter first…

Kilroy pulls herself up and sizes up the doors for a moment. How much force will be needed to break it? Only one way to find out. Kilroy hesitates a second before giving a roundhouse kick to the door, mostly making her leg hurt. "Fuck," she mutters as she limps around, trying to shake off the pain. But as she steps closer to the door, she can see the smallest crack. And it's enough to get her to forget the pain and kick the door again, making the crack spread.

She can do this.

Kilroy takes a step back, taking one last look at the crack before giving one hard kick at it and her foot goes through it as a hole forms. She carefully takes her foot out, trying not to slice up her foot in the process, but despite how careful she is, she still gets some cuts. But it's worth it because now she has a way in. Instead of risking further injury, she uses the hilt to start knocking away the remaining glass, cringing with each piece of fallen glass and turning back often to ensure she's alone.

When she has a person sized hole made, she leans inside the elevator shaft and glances up and down, finding the elevator sitting at the very bottom. And with a cable leading right to it.

"Alright Kilroy, time to commit to this plan," she tells herself to psych herself up before grabbing the cable and pulling herself to it. She wraps her legs around it tightly, holding in place for a few seconds before slowly starting to slide down it.

Her muscles start to burn as she gets closer to the lower levels and the light from above slips away. But as she goes further down, new light starts to shine into the shaft from another set of doors and she quickens her pace. The stationary elevator sits just below the doors and once a few feet above it, she drops down onto it. She finds her reflection staring back at her in the mirrored doors and gets taken aback for a moment by the fear in her eyes. It terrifies her to see herself that way so she quickly kicks at the mirror, wanting to avoid staring at herself any longer.

With four well placed kicks, the door shatters and Kilroy brings up a hand to cover her eyes from the light in the room as she steps inside the room and a smile slowly starts to form on her face as she takes in the racks of weapons and equipment, just waiting for someone to use it.

She might not have many days left. But she just needs a few hours to set up something to make sure whoever brings her down will regret it.

* * *

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

"Tanelai, I don't think a scarf is going to help a broken nose." His ally simply sighs at him as she sits back, bunching up the scarf in her hand as she stares at him. His face throbs with each beat of his heart and he can't breathe well out of his nose anymore, yet he's trying his best to stop thinking about the injury. If he can just pretend that he didn't break his nose, maybe, just maybe he can pretend for a little while that he's not in the Hunger Games… "I don't think anything is going to help it aside from surgery."

"Well I guess you'll just have to stay alive to get that surgery," Tanelai chuckles for a moment before cutting herself off, seemingly realizing what her words would mean for her. Garth is dreading the day he has to see his ally die…yet doesn't he have to if he's going to get back home to his family? They both can't win. Nothing will ever change that. "Sorry…" Tanelai says softly as she throws the bundled up fabric to the side before laying down in the pile of clothes they've gathered from the shop they're in, turning so her back is to Garth. "I just want to help."

Garth stares at his ally's back for a few awkward seconds before laying back on his own pile, staring up at the dark sky filled with stars that are unnaturally bright. These aren't the stars he's stared at back at home on nights when he would sit outside with Harlow, a blanket wrapped around their shoulders to keep them warm. These aren't the stars his younger siblings would point at and ask him to identify on warm summer nights when they would gather around a small bonfire in their backyard. These are cold, foreign and artificial stars, stars that only they are seeing in the arena.

The arena he nearly died in during the first five minutes. Would he have survived that fight if Muir hadn't thrown the knife into Carrie-Ann's back? Or what if she had thrown the knife at him instead? Or what if Tanelai had been on the opposite side and was killed in the explosions, leaving him on his own? So many what ifs and different scenarios that could have resulted in his death, all if people had been placed in slightly different spots or people had reached for different weapons. All of it is enough to make a panic build in him and fill him with fear of dying.

A sob escapes from him before there's any hope of him stopping it and he quickly covers his mouth, knowing how dangerous it is to make too loud of noises in the arena. But he can't stop the tears forming in his eyes as he takes a shaky breath in that burns his nose, all trying to keep quiet so no one walking nearby would hear him.

"Garth?" Tanelai's voice hesitantly speaks up in the quiet. He can hear rustling beside him and quickly wipes at the tears in his eyes, making him grimace in pain as he brushes his broken nose. From the corner of his eye, he can see her lay on her side and prop herself up with her elbow so she can look at him better, but he continues to stare up at the fake stars. He can't look at her. One look and she'll know how pitiful he is and leave him behind instead of letting him slow her down. After all, she's the one that got a weapon during the bloodbath and what did he get? A broken nose. "Are you alright?"

"No," Garth whispers as he shakes his head at her question. How could anyone be alright in the arena when death can be around any corner?

"Neither am I," Tanelai sighs as she rolls back over and Garth spares a quick glance over to see her staring up at the stars, but quickly turns back when she turns her head towards him. "This place is terrifying… I'm terrified to sleep out of fear that someone will find me and slit my throat before I even have a chance. I'm terrified that we'll try to move to a better hiding spot just to walk into a trap. And I-" she cuts off to take a shaky breath and Garth turns back towards her, finding his tears mirrored in her expression. "And I'm terrified I won't make it home alive."

"Me too," Garth whispers in response to her, letting the tears slip down the sides of his face now instead of trying to hide them from her. "I've been on the verge of a panic attack this whole time and can't find anything to think about that isn't the arena…"

Tanelai wipes away her own tears and grabs the scarf she had offered to him. Garth is ready to turn down her help once more but she instead uses it to blow her nose, bringing a small hint of a smile to his face that he can't help at just the ridiculousness of this all. But the smile is soon gone, quickly chased away by the anxiety of the arena. "What about home?" She whispers as she throws the used scarf towards the wall.

"Home?" Garth asks nervously, having avoided this as long as he's been in the Capitol. He hasn't wanted to share the most private parts of his life with the whole nation for them to judge him for the mistakes he's made.

"Yeah, home," Tanelai repeats, rolling onto her side to look at him better. "The place you live. The people there."

"I know what home means," Garth shakes his head at her attempt to joke, but it's working just a bit. He turns onto his side to look at her too and finds her smiling, trying to get him to lighten up. Yet home isn't a cheerful place for him. It's just filled with mistakes that he might never get to fix. "Tell me about Seven and your family."

"My family?" Tanelai lets out a huff that's a mix of a scoff and a sigh at this and Garth raises an eyebrow, a little curious what that could mean. "I'm an only child and so my parents have put a lot of pressure on me. Stuff like 'wanting me to do better than them' or some bullshit like that," Tanelai shrugs as best as she can while laying on her side and despite the annoyed tone in her voice, Garth can see on her face that she misses her parents. "What about you? Didn't you mention siblings in your interview?"

"Yeah, I'm the oldest of four," Garth smiles slightly at Tanelai remembering that detail from his interview and almost starts laughing as she widens her eyes at how many siblings he has.

"Four?" She asks in disbelief and Garth nods his head. "God, I couldn't imagine that many siblings."

"It's not too bad," Garth tries to convince her but can see that she won't be convinced otherwise. "I mean, it's not fun when they're going through their brooding teenage phase but I still love them."

"Yeah…" Tanelai says softly, getting a sad smile on her face as she continues, "Daram has a younger sibling and I love her. Absolutely spoil her rotten."

"Is Daram…" Garth starts slowly, hesitant to bring up boyfriends, terrified that she'll ask him if he has anyone.

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend," Tanelai answers with a small smile, but her tears start filling with tears once more, making Garth feel bad for bringing him up. "I love that doof more than anything." She shuts her eyes and lets out a shaky breath. When she opens her eyes once more, she blinks a couple times to clear her tears. "He's definitely who I'm fighting for…do you have anyone like that?"

Garth stares down at the clothes they piled on the floor and starts picking at the seam of a shirt, anything to keep from facing Tanelai and answering her question. He dodged it at the interview but if he says it now, everyone will know. Surely there's cameras trained on them right now… But what harm is there? Anyone that matters to him already knows the truth about what happened… "I did, but I messed things up… He left me and I deserve it. It was my fault."

"No one deserves that," Tanelai answers and he just shakes his head at her. She has no idea just how much it's his fault. "Dude we all make mistakes. If it was a genuine mistake, then it's not your fault."

Garth continues shaking his head at her. "But it wasn't…I didn't tell him the truth and now he won't even let me try to explain why I did what I did… It was always for my family…" Garth rolls onto his back so he can reach into his pocket and carefully pull out the watch he brought as his token. He runs his thumb over the broken face, the time a permanent reminder of the time he ruined everything. He can see Tanelai looking over curiously at him and he holds the watch out to her, fresh tears starting to form in his eyes as he thinks back on his mistakes. "I bought this for him before I ruined it. He threw it at me and it broke then, stopped forever on that exact time, reminding me when I lost him…"

Tanelai stares at the watch before gently tossing it onto his stomach. "Dude that's the most depressing thing I've heard and we're in the Hunger Games right now."

Garth feels his cheeks heating up in embarrassment and he puts the watch away before rolling onto his side to face away from his ally, wishing he hadn't opened up to her about Harlow. But she doesn't let him stay that way and she grabs onto his side, forcing him to roll back over. "What?"

"You can't keep wallowing in self-pity over the past," Tanelai tries to tell him, but he just shakes his head at her.

"Why not? I'm good at it."

"Yeah, well, you're not going to win the Games that way," Tanelai scoffs at him and sits up so she can stare down at him better. "And if I don't win, you bet I want my ally to win. Garth…look at me." She stays silent as a minute goes by of Garth just staring out the roof above them until he finally sighs and slowly sits up, not really wanting to face her or his past. "Look, if he doesn't want to forgive you for making a mistake and apologizing for it, then he doesn't deserve you. You're a good guy, Garth…I can tell you don't believe that at times but I can see that from just a few days of knowing you. So don't let a mistake stop you from trying to fix it or find someone who does deserve your love."

By the time she finishes and tries to give him an encouraging smile, Garth can barely see her from the tears blurring his eyes. He's held onto his guilt for so very long with no one to tell for fear of judgement. He never wanted to hurt Harlow – that was why he hadn't told him the truth about his job. Harlow hadn't even let him try to explain why he did it for his family. And yet, he can't be mad at him. But maybe…maybe she's right…but there's the big assumption there that he'll actually make it out alive from this hell and his hopes aren't too high. He knows his odds.

But that doesn't mean he can't have some hope. "I'll always still love him," Garth says quietly, wanting Harlow to know that, despite everything that happened he still loves him.

Tanelai is silent for a moment before giving him a sad smile. "First loves tend to do that. But doesn't mean there won't be more or that you won't get back together with him. But first you need to get out of here. Then you'll find the best man to love you despite your mistakes."

"Yeah…just have to get out of here first," Garth repeats quietly as fear starts to build in his chest once more as he's reminded of where they are. It was so easy to forget for a moment that there aren't other tributes out there hunting for them… Tributes like Stark who swore to him that he would find him… Other trained careers who didn't hesitate to kill in the bloodbath… How can they even hope to beat them?

"Get some sleep," Tanelai tells him as she scooches back to lean up against the wall. She tosses a dress over at him to use as a blanket when he doesn't move to lay down. "I'm serious, Garth. Get some sleep because you look like shit right now. And just focus on right now. The past is done, so stop worrying about things you can't change."

Garth stares at her for a few seconds and she raises her eyebrows and nods her head at their makeshift bed, making him sigh and give in to her taking first watch. He doesn't want to sleep, too afraid of what he might dream about. Maybe that was why Tanelai wants to take first watch, to avoid the nightmares. "Hey Tanelai…" He says quietly as he pulls the dress around him to keep warm.

"Yeah Garth?"

"Thank you for distracting me for a bit…" Garth tells her before rolling over so she won't see him stay awake for so long or to see the tears of fear and regret he's barely keeping in.

A few minutes pass in silence, making Garth start to think that Tanelai won't respond to him, until he barely hears her whisper, "I needed it too."

* * *

 **Night One, let's go! I'm back from the dead aka the semester lol. I'll be done within a week and things are slowing down for me so I'm hopeful that I'll kick it back into gear and really get moving with this!**

 **Before I start rambling, eulogies:**

 _ **Maddelena 'Maddie' Sallow, Ranked 12th, Killed by Stark [2]:**_

 _Maddie is a tribute I feel like could have really shown in a featured tribute spot. There was a lot more to her that could have gotten explored, but obviously I didn't have the POVs for her and her strategy was to remain alone. She was unlucky in the end to be in the same building as Stark and Jinx. She did receive your sponsor gift, Pi, and got to have some nice comfort food before she was discovered. RIP Maddie._

 **Alright so this chapter was definitely a lot of angst and setting up for things. How do you think these plans will end?**

 **By time you've reached this point, the blog will have been updated with locations at the end of night one! Also a reminder that sponsoring is going on and you have until May 21st to sponsor any gifts that will be received in Day Two!**

 **RQ #22:** What comfort food would you want to receive in the arena?

 **Alrighty I'll see you all hopefully soon with Day Two!**


	29. Day Two: There'll Be Peace

**Chapter 26:**

 _Day Two_

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District Two_

"Un-fucking-believable," Stark mutters for probably the fiftieth time this hour as he wanders through the streets of the apartment buildings, just simply in disbelief that he has not found his former ally. How could he have lost her? He had the hint from Bronn and he thought he had found her, but instead it was that girl from Eleven that hid for most of training. He searched every room of that building, yet Jinx wasn't there…

He fucked up and he can just hear in his head what his parents are probably muttering about him back home in Two. 'See we told you not to go into the Games, you're not prepared.'

 _Not prepared, my ass_. He won't let them get the satisfaction of seeing him struggle in the Games. After all, he needs to win so he can rub it in their smug faces when he moves into the Victors Village without them.

As Stark stomps out of the apartment building, uncaring about making noise – because really, who's a threat to him? – he turns his face up towards the sky and stares around, having to bring up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun reflecting off the mirrored buildings. "You know, some help would be really great, Bronn!"

Stark waits impatiently for one minute…two…until he has to accept that his mentor isn't helping him. "Fine," he scowls as he turns to look around at the street in front of him and he sets his sights on the building across from him and starts stomping towards it. "I'll search through every single one of these buildings if I have to until I find her."

He storms across the street and grabs onto the door handle and yanks hard, only to stumble back a few steps without the door swinging open. "Seriously?" Yet he tries to pull on the door handle once more, only to find the door into the apartment building firmly locked. "What the hell…" Stark mutters as he steps back and stares at the locked door, considering his options. Could he break it down? Surely, it's only made of glass. But is there some sort of trap waiting for him on the other side? Or what if Jinx has barricade it shut?

As much as he wants to find Jinx, it's unlikely the girl would think to barricade the door and he's not taking the chance. He sighs as he turns around and glances up and down the street, considering his options. He could go into the west and spend hours and hours searching all the apartment buildings, only to have her stay one step ahead of him and hidden from him. But just the thought of that has him immediately deciding against it. He would rather stick pins in his eyeballs than search every building there, even if that's what he promised Bronn he would do. But he mostly said that in hopes that Bronn would take pity and give him another hint.

Stark turns his attention east, staring long at the road leading into a fenced off area. From the view at the top of the apartments, he could see into the gated area and see the six mansions in there and a small hint of water. He pauses as he stares over there, knowing just how valuable that water source could be. Just thinking about it has his throat itching and he reaches towards the water bottle in his bag and takes a big sip before staring at it and realizing it's already half empty. Fuck.

Well, he might as well fill up his water bottle and hope that someone is over there. Then he can get back to searching for Jinx to get back at her for trying to kill him and destroying their alliance. But he will thank her first for taking out so many tributes, it's made his job much easier.

With one hand placed on the knife tucked into his belt and one hand unfurling his whip, Stark sets out towards the gated area, not concerned at all at running into tributes. Why should he be afraid? The only ones that can challenge him are the careers and he'll only run into one, maybe two of them. There's no way all three of them are venturing out together and leaving their supplies unattended. He doesn't doubt he can take them on. He'll show them he deserved the higher score. He'll show them that District Two did not make a mistake in picking him.

And so he simply saunters over to the gate, only stopping for a brief moment at the crossing of roads, considering going towards the closest mansion and beginning to search there. But he decides to go towards the water, knowing his revenge will only get sweeter the longer he has to wait to find her.

Stark saunters over to the water, smirk on his face as he heads down the road, taking a brief moment to look at himself in one of the mirrored buildings. "I look disgusting," he mutters to himself before pushing back his hair, trying to make himself a bit more appealing. After all, there's still sponsors to impress. Once satisfied at his appearance, he continues towards what he can now see is a small lake, taking up a good portion of the fenced in area. At the sight of the water, his throat gets even itchier and he picks up his pace, almost making him not notice the small girl huddled by some reeds at the water's edge.

But she has noticed him. "Don't come closer," Jinx giggles nervously as she aims a- a _bazooka?_ How the hell did she get a bazooka?! "I'll shoot!"

"You'll have a knife in your chest before you even fire that," Stark says in what he hopes is a calm tone as he slowly starts removing the knife from his belt, carefully watching the finger hovering near the trigger.

Before either of them can make a move, the sound of tinkling glass makes it to him before suddenly three small animals run between them, standing in crouches and directing their bared teeth towards Stark. It takes a few seconds for Stark to place the animals covered in crystals instead of fur as foxes, but really, that's the last of his concerns when he's facing three mutts and a psychopath thirteen year old girl with a bazooka.

He stares between them, trying to think just what his odds are of winning this fight are. But before he has the chance to make a move, the foxes start running towards him and he scrambles backwards, his decision made for him by the Gamemakers. He sprints back towards the gate, the foxes yapping at his heels, and he throws his arm back a few times, trying to hit them with his whip without really looking. "Fuck," he curses as one bites into his calf, not deep enough to really slow him down but enough to hurt like a bitch. Yet that's all the mutts try to do to him and they let him reach the gate.

He slows down after crossing through the gate and turns around to find the crystal mutts stopped at the edge of the gate, staring at him as Jinx approaches them, giggling as she looks between them and Stark. One of them approaches her and rubs against her leg, showing her affection before she scratches behind its ears. Seriously? How did she have mutts that befriended her? "I'm going to kill you! I swear it!"

"Bye Stark!" Jinx waves at him and giggles as she crouches down to pet the fox some more, even getting licked on the cheek by it which just makes her laugh even more. "Have fun!"

Stark glares at her for a few more seconds, considering his odds of killing her. He takes one step closer to her, but when one of the mutts starts growling and baring its teeth at him, he decides to start walking backwards, not trusting Jinx to not fire the bazooka at him. When she stands back up and giggles some more at him before turning around to head back towards the buildings, that's when he finally turns around and begins storming down the road he just walked down.

"Damn it," Stark mutters as he keeps stomping down the road, getting further into the apartment complexes. Why the fuck would they not let him kill her? She was right there! He had her. Yet they stopped him. "This is fucking bullshit."

With an angry sigh Stark sits down onto the glass bench sitting on the edge of the street. He stares straight ahead and takes deep breaths, trying to slow down his racing heart. But he's struggling to get calm, simply too angry that his revenge was stopped by the Gamemakers. If they don't want him killing her, he'll never be allowed the chance. But why would they want to keep her alive?

And what the hell is he supposed to do now?

"Urgh!" Stark yells out, his voice echoing against the buildings, but he doesn't care. Let someone come find him now. Let him take out his anger and frustration.

Because this wasn't how he expected the Games to go.

For years he always pictured himself in charge of the career pack, all of them respecting his decisions and maybe even flirting with him a bit. But that didn't happen.

Then he had the plan with Keelin and Jinx to cripple the career pack at the bloodbath by taking out Pride, Link, and Ampora. But Jinx had to ruin that.

Now he's ally-less and can't even get revenge for his betrayal. He's just a sad career with no allies because he was rejected by the careers and the allies he did make either betrayed him or got blown up.

Stark rubs his face and lets out a heavy sigh before leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees so he can prop up his chin. He's pitiful, just sitting here and doing nothing, all because his plans keep getting ruined. What does he even do now? Half the tributes are dead so there's not very many to hunt down. As much as he wants to sabotage the careers, he knows they'll be expecting an attack from him. He is a threat to them, after all. He could search for Kilroy, but anyone that earns the highest score without training is not someone he wants to fuck with. Getting caught in whatever crossfire the Gamemakers have aimed at her would be an absolutely lame way to die.

Who else is even left to find? He could find Beta just for laughs after the psycho display he had before the private sessions. But that kill won't really be fun. There isn't really anyone else that would be as enjoyable for him to kill compared to Jinx. Except…

Oh he's such a dumbass. How could he have forgotten about the other betrayal he faced? Because being rejected by a whore wasn't nearly as big of an insult to him as his ally trying to blow him up before the Games started.

Slowly, a smirk begins to form on his face and he stands up from the bench, taking a moment to brush off his clothes before setting out in the direction opposite the arena. There's a huge portion of the arena he has yet to investigate and surely there's a way to the other side other than past the Cornucopia. And there's one tribute out there that he swore he would kill in this arena.

 _Garth, you're going to regret turning me down._

* * *

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to be splitting up?"

Muir looks up from where she was drawing out a plan in the dirt with the end of her spear and from the look she gives Pyrite, they know she also doesn't like the idea. Muir sighs as she leans against her spear, staring long at Pyrite. "I don't know, honestly… I really don't know if we'll be lucky enough to find anyone if we're all together. Not with how few are left."

Pyrite shakes their head at this, just feeling completely unsure about this plan. Well…they haven't felt sure about any of this since the bloodbath ended and they had time to realize just what they have done. And they're just doing everything possible to delay killing another tribute. "There's still two big threats out there."

"Stark and Kilroy?" Ampora asks and when they nod their head at her, she scoffs and shakes her head. "Don't worry about Stark, he's a pissy boy. And Kilroy? Were you the chosen tribute or what?"

"I was," Pyrite says slowly, watching Ampora carefully to see where she's going with this.

"Then start acting like it. If you don't want to go out and hunt tributes down so you can win, that's fine with me," Ampora gives her two allies a casual shrug before picking up her bag and swinging it onto her shoulder. She puts one hand on the hilt of her katana and looks at both of them before continuing, "Go ahead and makes things easier for me to win. But I'm going to do my part of the plan and go search for tributes in the north and I hope I run into Stark so I can punch that smug look off his bastard face."

Ampora waits a few seconds to see if either of them will respond to her and Pyrite and Muir share a look before their ally turns around to start heading north of the cornucopia. "Wait!" Muir calls after her and Ampora stops to glance over her shoulder at them. "Remember that if we hear a cannon we come back here right away. Ideally it will be one of us causing that cannon but it's good to get back and regroup right away. And that way we know if something were to happen to one of us right away…"

Muir trails off, letting her words hang in the air as they all know what she means. If they don't return after the cannon, well, they're not returning alive. Ampora gives a thumbs up over her shoulder at them before continuing off on her path north. Pyrite watches her walk away for a minute, wishing they had her confidence right now to just go blazing into the arena, ready to kill tributes without any second thoughts. They had that kind of confidence just a week ago before ever getting to the Capitol and realizing that all the other tributes are kids just like them, some that are the same age as their brothers…

"Are you sure about this?" Pyrite asks their ally quietly once Ampora is a good enough distance away to not hear them anymore.

"No," Muir answers with a scoff and Pyrite glances over at her to find her shaking her head. "Are you?"

"Not at all," Pyrite responds, getting a hint of a smile from Muir.

"Good," Muir says quietly, staring at Pyrite for a few seconds before sighing and turning to face the tall building in the south that she'll be going to. "I trust you not to get into any fight you don't feel like you can win. But Ampora?"

"Yeah," Pyrite agrees as they turn to look at the circular building to the east of the building Muir is going to search. They start cracking their knuckles nervously, still wanting to put this off.

"Do you…" Muir trails off as she puts a hand on Pyrite's shoulder, making them jump slightly in surprise before turning their head to look over at her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

They desperately need someone to talk to about the confusion inside of them right now, but saying the words out loud could be deemed treasonous in the eyes of the Capitol. After all, why would they want to hear that one of their beloved career tributes is questioning everything about the Games? They don't know how they ever thought it was right to participate in the Games…this isn't right, it's murder labeled as entertainment by the Capitol. Entertainment Pyrite is playing right into. But what are they supposed to do? If they don't play along, they'll die. And Pyrite has so much at home, so many people rooting for them… They can't let them see them die in the arena. Mom, Uncle Soleil, their brothers Mica and Ruri who are in the worst times of their teen years. They don't even want to think about how much their death would ruin them… And then there's their friends Joy and Hera, who are surely cheering them on right now and yelling at their screen at them to get their butt moving and win already. They're all probably cheering them on right now…and the thought is enough to bring the smallest smile to their face and give them the push they need to do what they have to do, even if it feels so wrong.

"Yes, but I don't think it's the right time to talk about it," Pyrite answers softly, knowing that to say the words aloud would surely doom them and possibly their family. "And we should probably stop procrastinating…"

"Yeah…" Muir agrees, but she doesn't start moving either for a minute before finally sighing and picking up her bag of supplies. Pyrite does the same and returns to anxiously cracking their knuckles as they shift from foot to foot. "Alright…let's hope this all goes well."

"Right…" Pyrite says as the two start heading south. But at the edge of the City Circle, they have to split ways with Pyrite going southeast and Muir continuing west. Pyrite pauses at the edge of the path they have to take and looks over at their ally. "Good luck."

"You too," Muir responds before turning around and continuing towards her building.

Pyrite takes a deep breath before heading down their path, knowing they have to do this. But God, every part of them is screaming to turn back around and just guard the cornucopia while the others hunt. They can just stay there and put off facing other tributes, put off facing the guilt that has been filling them ever since they killed two boys yesterday…two boys the same age as their brother…

How could they have done that without blinking an eye? They just killed them at the bloodbath without a second thought, all because the Capitol and District One have told them for years that's what they must do. They trained them for murder…but Pyrite hadn't realized that because they had such blind faith that the government was telling them what was right. They've always done their best to follow the laws of Panem and do what's right. But everything in them is telling them that this isn't right…

Does Pyrite do what's right or do they live? Do they stick to their morals or do they do what the Capitol has told them to do?

To some, it's an easy question to answer: they choose to live. But to Pyrite, well, it has them hesitating in the doorway into the opera house, fighting with the choice they might have to make if they run into a tribute. But their life isn't the only one at risk here if they do something against what the Capitol wants… They could be putting their entire family at risk. And they can't do that…

But Pyrite hopes they won't have to make that decision just yet. They kind of doubt that anyone would have stuck in the opera house with how close it is to the careers. So hopefully they won't find anyone and they can just head back later to their allies, tell them they tried to find someone but were just unsuccessful. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

Pyrite finally starts to take some steps into the opera house, finding themself in the grand entrance of the building. They've seen pictures of this building before, having dreamt of one day being up on the stage, and the all crystal version of the building simply doesn't compare to the lush velvet carpets lining the floors or the golden decorations on the walls lined with candle sconces. The real opera house feels warm and inviting, while this building just feels cold and reminds Pyrite of where they are. And yet…temptation to just once feel what it's like up on that stage has them heading across the room to the door towards the floor seats.

They gently push open the mirrored door and take a few steps inside, finding their jaw dropping open a little in wonder at the theater. Okay…forget what they said before about the entrance feeling cold. There's a different kind of beauty to the theater here with its crystal decorations and the way the single spotlight shines down on the stage, reflecting rainbow light onto the wall. Pyrite's feet move on their own, drawn to that single spotlight that seems to be there for them.

How many years have they dreamt of this? Seven, close to eight now. Seven years of dreaming of being a star. And here they are, almost ready to throw that dream away and let themself die in this arena…

Pyrite hesitates for a moment as they reach the edge of the stage, wondering if they really want to feel what it's like in the spotlight now or wait until the real thing…but they quickly pull themself up onto the stage, knowing that there's no guarantee they'll make it to the real stage. Slowly they step towards the spotlight and pause at the edge of it before taking a deep breath and stepping into it and turning towards the rows of seats. The light is bright in their eyes, only allowing them to see the first few rows of the seats.

But they shut their eyes, able to imagine the crowd applauding for them as the actor they share the two leading roles with steps forward to give them their moment in the bows, yelling out to the crowd, "Pyrite Cherno, your victor of the 113th Hunger Games!"

Pyrite's voice echoes around the theater and they open their eyes, can't believing that they actually said that out loud. They squint to see around the theater, knowing they just announced their presence to any tribute that may be lurking here… But then again, who would stay this close? They're fine…they're about to shut their eyes again to bask in the spotlight when they hear a seat slamming down and they quickly unsheathe their sword as the spotlight suddenly goes out and they struggle to see against the sudden difference in light. They jump down from the stage and start slowly walking through the rows, heart racing as they look up and down each one for whatever – or whoever… – made that sound.

They can feel their palm growing sweaty as they grip the hilt of their sword so tightly their hand is starting to hurt, but they don't dare ease up. Not when they are now facing the possibility of having to decide to do what they think is right or follow the law…

Another noise and movement in their peripheral catches their attention and they start running towards the boy trying to run down a row three up from Pyrite to get away from them. They take off after them, letting themself run on their instincts right now, and the boy keeps glancing over his shoulder at them with a petrified look on his face as they get closer to him. But one time proves to be a mistake as glancing back causes him to trip over a seat and he yells out as he falls to the ground. He scrambles to get up but that fall was all Pyrite needed to catch up to him.

They tackle him and he starts squirming, trying to get out of their grip, surprising Pyrite with the strength he has. Up close, Pyrite finally recognizes him as the boy from Ten, and they understand how he has strength. But it's still nothing compared to their strength.

"Please don't kill me!" He begs them, making Pyrite pause as they put their arm on his chest to keep him in place. "Please!" He repeats again after seeing their hesitation and he stares up at them with tear-stained eyes. "I-I don't wa-want to die."

"Neither do I," Pyrite whispers to him and they can hear their voice wavering. But it's true…they don't want to die and they don't want to know that they caused their family to die because they didn't do what they had to do in the Games. Yet they're still hesitating to kill him and they know it's from the way the boy's messy brown hair is reminding them so much of Mica's unruly hair. And they're so close in age too…

"I'm sorry!" Pyrite squeaks out as they quickly bring their sword against his neck and slice deep. The boy gasps as Pyrite is sprayed with his blood and they barely turn in time to release the contents of their stomach on the ground next to him.

 _Boom._

"Oh God…" Pyrite mumbles as they use their sleeve to wipe away vomit and blood from their mouth and they quickly stand up and take a few steps back, unable to look away from what they just did. They can feel their stomach churning more and almost feel like they're going to vomit once more. They look away from his body and down to their shaking hands that are covered in his blood…

Pyrite turns around to slowly start walking back to the cornucopia, knowing their allies will be returning after the cannon they caused, and they can feel their eyes stinging with tears from their guilt and confusion.

This is so _wrong_ …yet they want to live. How can they keep doing this?

* * *

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District Eleven_

Addae has made quite a few promises in the last few weeks and as each hour goes by in the arena, he feels more and more like he's failing to keep them.

Addae promised his grandmother that he would try to help out Maddie, give her some peace before the Games started. Yet he failed at that and she still had a panic attack during her interview. And even though he knew she would die if he's to win, he still can't help but feel like there was more he could have done to have stopped her death yesterday. He doesn't know how she died…but he can only hope it wasn't as violent as the deaths caused by the giggling girl at the start. All he can hope for her is that she had a quick and relatively painless death. He knew her death would happen but it hadn't made seeing her face in the night sky any easier.

Addae promised his family he would win the Games to break the curse on Panem. It's something his family has been trying to fight for years but none of their efforts from District Eleven have been successful yet. They've put all their hopes on Addae to break the curse and get rid of the vengeful spirits cursing the Capitol through the Hunger Games. He was ready for this task. But he's not so sure anymore.

So much death…so much death in under 48 hours in this arena. They're already down to ten tributes… _Ten_. And it's just day two. He knew he would have to be part of the death of the Games to ultimately end them to bring about peace but he has never seen death up close before… He hasn't heard the screams. He hasn't smelled the metallic scent of blood as it was spilled from kids. He hasn't seen people act so malicious to someone else, so quick to _kill_ , all because it's what they're told to do.

And nine more have to die, some surely at his hands if he is to remove the curse. How is he supposed to break the curse when he feels like he's just contributing to it? How can he break it when he's doing exactly what the Capitol expects of him? He's just being another pawn in their game, playing along without questioning it. He did what was expected at the bloodbath. He ran in to get supplies and scared off another tribute. And what great supplies they are. A can of soup that is only a few sips away from empty. A tiny water bottle that he's savoring every drop. A flashlight that would give him away instantly in this arena made of glass. And a knife he really doesn't want to use against anyone. But he'll have to…

And then there's one last promise he made… Addae also promised Garia that he would win this year. He promised her that she would no longer have to mentor these Games alone, either by being by her side or breaking the curse. But that requires winning and Addae doesn't like his odds right now.

Addae is unsure if he'll be able to keep any of his promises.

He would feel a lot more comfortable if he was in a different arena, one where he had the tools necessary to cast the protection spells he promised his father he would do first thing in the arena. But it's hard to do when there's barely any plants.

Another promise he won't hold. Addae dejectedly kicks the bleacher seat in front of him, sighing a bit as he looks around the big sports center he's made his home while waiting for the others to hopefully find each other first. Sitting in the very top row gives a slight rush of fear whenever he stands up, knowing one wrong step could send him tumbling down to his death because he doubts the glass barriers in each section will hold. But the vantage point has kept him up here, knowing he'll see anyone enter well before they see him, giving him enough time to slip away unnoticed and avoid fighting another day.

But he won't be able to stay here for long… He's going to have to leave soon. He spent the last two days searching through the building, trying to find food and water. Yet all the stands labeled as food places are completely empty, only making his stomach hurt as they taunt him with images of food that could have been there. And leaving the sports center means increasing his odds of running into another tribute.

And Addae is going to put that off as long as possible.

He doesn't know how he will act when that inevitably happens and that thought terrifies him. He's terrified that he'll turn into a monster like the others have, not blinking twice at taking a life. The curse is so much stronger in the arena compared to the Districts, turning innocent people to evil so easily. It makes sense, of course, considering the Hunger Games are the root of the curse. But how long until it starts to turn Addae? Will the protection spells he cast protect him against the curse for the entire length of the Games? Or will he just become another mindless slave of the cursed Capitol after he's victor and let the Games keep taking lives while he mentors kids and prepares them for the slaughter?

Or there's the option where he fails completely and all of his worries won't matter any longer. The duty to free Panem will fall to his sister and he will just have to watch from the aftermath.

That might just be the worst option of them all…having to watch his sister go through these struggles and have no way to protect her. He knows she's strong – all the women in his family are strong – but he doesn't want to see her face these struggles and fight against the curse. Because he knows her and her stubbornness. She'll fight the Capitol at every turn instead of being careful about her intentions. She'll get herself killed by them.

Addae can't let that happen. He'll do whatever it takes to stop his sister from coming to harm. He must do whatever it takes to survive, as much as he dislikes it. All he can do right now is focus on survival and he will deal with the curse and the consequences of his actions once he is out of this arena. He brings up his hand to his necklace and clutches the beads there, silently praying for their protection to keep him safe against what he must do.

He will have to fight when the time comes to it. Not fighting will mean his death and his family is counting on him. So he must prepare for this fight. He doesn't know how long he has until he will be forced to run into another tribute, led together by the Gamemakers actions as they move their pawns around the board. Surely they'll bring him and Beta together…they were always watching them during training. They must have caught onto the conflict between them and will latch onto it to cause further drama. Or maybe he'll be lucky enough and the cannon he heard earlier will be for Beta and he'll be spared from that fight.

He supposes he'll only have to wait a little longer to find out who's death caused the cannon earlier. Addae turns around, still a little unnerved by only having glass behind him, to stare out at the sky. He had chosen this spot in the arena for a reason, knowing it will give him the perfect view of the setting sun. He always makes sure to watch the sunset each day, finding soothing energy in the ending of the day. Even if the sun in the arena is unnaturally bright and vibrant and not the usual sun, Addae still finds some soothing in watching it turn the sky orange. And as much as he hates to admit it, it's turned the glass and mirrors in the arena warm compared to their normal harshness.

Addae sits in the spot and watches the sun set until it's hidden away by the tall wall surrounding the arena, clearly telling the tributes just how small of an area they're trapped inside. With a sigh, he knows now is the time for him to head out into the arena to find food. He should be protected in the cover of darkness, even if the moon in the arena is unnaturally bright. But in the darkness there are other things to be afraid of: the angry spirits trapped by the Capitol's curse. And he knows there's been plenty of angry spirits from these Games… Yet it's a risk he will have to take.

Addae stands up, giving himself a moment to stretch out his tense muscles. He looks around the sports arena first to verify that no one else is in there before slowly walking down the steps, carefully holding onto the railing to prevent himself from falling to his death. Once on the flat platform and back into the walkway surrounding the seats, he picks up his pace but still is careful to keep his steps as quiet as possible, not knowing if anyone had snuck inside this part of the building.

But he doesn't run into anyone as he gets to the main food area and he lets out a sigh of relief as he walks down the main stairs to the ground level. As he gets to the last few steps, he brings his hand up to his knife tucked into his pocket and he hesitates in the growing darkness. He carefully looks around, yet there's no one in sight. As he should have known, considering how few tributes are still alive at this point.

He lightens his grip on the knife as he starts towards the front door, still ready to use it if he needs to but feeling less likely about that occurring with each step closer. Addae is about to exit the sports center when movement outside catches his attention and he brings himself to a stop, hiding in the doorframe to hopefully avoid being spotted. For walking west down the Avenue of the Tributes are the three careers left in the alliance, armed to the teeth as they strut in plain sight. But who do the three careers need to fear? Of course they're walking in plain sight. But Addae doesn't have that kind of safety, so he watches from his spot, tense and afraid to make any sort of movement that might draw their attention over to him.

As the careers get further and further west, he tries to think through his options if they see him. He's searched this building top to bottom and there's only one way in and out of it. If they enter, he's trapped. But what are his odds of staying alive if he tries to run away from them outside in plain sight? He has better odds of staying hidden from them within this building. He's the one that knows it, not them. But can he really take on three trained tributes?

He really hopes he doesn't have to find out.

Yet as they get closer and closer, their gazes stay trained on the building directly in front of them, not the building to the side where Addae stands, only partially hidden from their sight. He doesn't move a muscle until they are out of his sight and when he does, it's to take a step back from the door. And then another. And a few more until he finally turns around and heads back to the stairs up into the building as his stomach starts to rumble with hunger. He will have to go hungry tonight and wait until tomorrow to move through the arena to search for food. Perhaps the blinding sun on the buildings will provide as good as a cover as the darkness.

He'll have to wait and find out because there's no chance he's going out now that he knows the careers are on the prowl. And that's only three of them. He doesn't know where Stark is in this arena. Perhaps he's right outside the door, waiting for Addae to leave to get another kill. Maybe he's the one the careers are hunting for. Or maybe he's nowhere close to Addae.

But Addae isn't going to take that chance. He's gone hungry before back in Eleven. He can do it here for another night in the arena. Going hungry is a better option than facing tributes and making the choice about what he will do in a fight.

Because he still doesn't know what he'll do and it scares him.

* * *

 **Alright here we are with Day Two! The action is kicking up a few notches (like it wasn't already with that explosive start lol) and I'm excited to keep moving forward with this! Also I just didn't do a mentor POV this chapter because I wasn't feeling it so oh well *shrug*.**

 **What did you think? Which POV was your favorite? What will these tributes do with their conflicting thoughts? And will there really be peace when they are done?**

 **RQ #23:** Uhh I'm running out of ideas... How about we'll base it off of the opera house in Pyrite's section. What's your favorite musical?

 **I'll be back hopefully next week with Night Two so see you soon!**


	30. Night Two: When You Are Done

**Chapter 27:**

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten_

Despite the quiet surrounding her, sleep won't come to Jinx. She just doesn't understand why. She is safe inside her mansion with the coolest weapon – one she has been waiting to fire and really wanted to shoot at Stark – and her new mutt friends that lay curled up against her sides. Her belly is full from food found in the mansions and thirst quenched by the lake. She wouldn't say she's warm, but she isn't shivering. So as she stares up at the night sky, she tries to figure out why she just can't sleep, even though she's comfortable.

As she stares up at the sky, she starts absentmindedly brushing her hand over one of the mutts next to her, smiling at the gentle tinkling sound of its crystal fur. When it makes a little sound of contentment, Jinx giggles at how cute the mutt is, and the sound is loud in the night. But with the sound, she finally realizes why she is struggling to sleep. It's _too_ quiet around her and she's never done well sitting on her own in silence for an extended time, especially when something is keeping her worried. She needs some way to break the silence so she can sleep.

"I hope I can take you home with me," Jinx tells the fox she pets and it moves closer to her, even exposing its belly for her to rub the area free of crystals. She starts picturing the little fox running around in the Victors Village in Ten, Sally by her side as they play with their pet, and she finds herself grinning at the image. It will be so perfect. "I don't see why not. There's plenty of room for you to run around in Ten. And who is going to stop the newest victor from doing something?"

Jinx nervously giggles at this, knowing she needs the victor immunity for another reason. One big reason that she just wants to get home to. "I think Sally is going to love you. She's so kind and sweet and everyone loves her…" Jinx trails off, knowing that she is included in that group of people that loves Sally. But she hasn't told her that yet…but she's going to tell her right away when she gets back home to Ten. "She always tells me that I'm a good girl and I love when she tells me that and I do my best to be a good girl for her. I miss her but I know I'll see her soon."

But with admitting how much she misses Sally, the wall holding back her emotions breaks and Jinx feels her eyes starting to sting, making her start blinking and giggling in confusion. But as the first tear starts to fall, she brings her knees up to her chest, as she longs for her best friend. She's never been away from her for this long before. They've always been in class together and when class is out of session, they're always hanging out together. "Sally…" Jinx sobs as she thinks about her best friend, picturing the way she smiles at her, the way she tells her she's a good girl, the way she always is there for Jinx when her father is away on business trips to keep her company. "I miss you so much… I'm trying really hard to be a good girl for you, I promise. I'm trying hard to get back home to you. I would do anything for you. Nothing will stop me from getting home to you. No one will keep you from me, no tribute or boy like Ga-"

Jinx slams her hand over her mouth, instantly stopping her sobs and a nervous giggles slip through her fingers. One of her foxes lazily picks up its head to look at her, but from the intense look in its eyes, she knows its watching her carefully and waiting. Waiting to see what else she has to say. Waiting to see if she will confess to murdering Galvin before stepping foot into the arena.

"I mean…" Jinx's anxious giggle grows in volume as she sits up, holding her knees close to her chest as she looks at her fox. "I won't let myself get stopped from returning to you by any…any tributes! No boys like…like…" Jinx struggles to think of the names of the tributes, her paranoia stopping her from even picturing all of the tributes in her head. "Like Ga…Ga…Garth! Yeah, like Garth, or Stark, or anyone else!"

Jinx stares back at the fox, panic continuing to slowly build in her as she waits for some sign that they know what she was going to say. That they know that she was the one that killed Galvin so he wouldn't get in the way of her being together with Sally. But surely the Gamemakers aren't going to take her out when she probably has the most kills of anyone in the arena. She's doing exactly what the Gamemakers expect from her in the Games. She's been doing their legal murdering! So why stop her now when she's doing what they want better than the rest? She hasn't done anything wrong…she's doing what she's supposed to and being a good girl!

Eventually, the fox stands up and takes a moment to shake out its fur, filling the air with the sound of glass hitting other glass pieces, before slowly walking over to the door of the bedroom where she sits. Jinx giggles nervously as she waits to see what it is going to do, fearful that it is going to turn around to attack her. And it does turn around to her, but it stays still, staring at her with those knowing eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Jinx asks with a nervous giggle, unsure of the answer and finding herself reminded that while these foxes may have been cute and like pets with her for a little while, they are still very much controlled by the Gamemakers.

"Ow!" Jinx cries out as she suddenly she feels a nip on her arm. She glances down to find the other fox next to her head butt the spot it just lightly bit before staring over at the fox in the doorway. "No," Jinx whines as she hugs her legs even closer to her chest and starts shaking her head at the door mutts. "I don't want to move. I-I just want Sally right now."

A growl starts beside her and Jinx scrambles to her feet and quickly moves away from the fox. An anxious laugh slips out of her from the fear gripping her chest at the sight of the very sharp teeth it bears at her and the vicious look in its eyes. Gone is the animal that was cuddling with her a few minutes ago and back is the Gamemaker mutt. "Please don't," she pleads, only getting another growl in response as the fox takes one step towards her. "Okay I'll leave here!" Jinx says as she starts scrambling to pick up her belongings, all while keeping an eye on the fox near her. But once she picks up her weapon, the fox stops growling and simply keeps an eye on her, placated by her doing what it wants.

Jinx grabs the small purse she found and filled with a little bit of food and stands up on shaky legs, giggling nervously at the fox as it approaches her. It pushes against her leg in an almost affectionate way, but also subtly pushing her towards the door. She didn't want to leave this mansion yet, finding herself comfortable here and protected. But the Gamemakers have decided that she needs to get moving. Maybe they're disappointed that she hasn't killed anyone else since the bloodbath. Yeah, that has to be it! The others must not be killing like her so the Gamemakers want her to show them how it's done. After all, they did get her this super cool weapon that she hasn't gotten to use yet.

"Okay, let's go!" Jinx says with a happy giggle as she starts out of the room. The two foxes follow close behind her as she maneuvers her way out of the large mansion and back outside. Once out of the building, the foxes step to her sides and she glances down at them, grinning as one of their tongues laps out and licks the back of her hand. Gone are the intimidating creatures and they're back to being her cute friends. "Where to?" Jinx asks them, knowing the Gamemakers will show her if they want her somewhere specific.

The one that had went to the door originally starts trotting ahead of them, looking back at her expectantly, so she follows after it towards the gate of the community, the other fox staying by her side. She keeps her weapon propped up against her shoulder, struggling a little to carry the weapon that's close to her size. But she does it, just thinking about how cool it will be to actually fire it at someone. Will it be similar to what happened when she threw the beads at the pedestals? Or something else? Hopefully she finds out soon so she can get back home to Sally sooner.

The fox waits at the gate with her and as she gets a few feet away, it walks through it, continuing on a path back towards the Cornucopia. Jinx stops walking at this, a nervous giggle bubbling up at the thought of being led straight back to the careers. It would be three against one…but she does have this weapon. She could maybe take them out before they even know that she's there. Just like she did at the start. She could be three deaths closer to ending these Games. And after the careers are gone, she can go find Stark and Beta.

Decision made for herself, even if that's what the Gamemakers wanted, Jinx sets off down the path. As she walks, she brings her weapon down from her shoulder and holds it in front of her, ready to fire it at anyone that comes in front of her. But the moonlit streets are silent as she walks through, the only sounds being the faint tinkling of the glass from the foxes walking behind her.

Jinx starts to slow as she nears the edge of the buildings next to the Cornucopia, her eyes searching through the night to find the careers. Her gaze stops on the holes in the ground that she had caused and she can easily spot where she had stood, the pedestal sticking out among the pits in the ground where the others had exploded. She absentmindedly reaches up for the necklace, but starts frowning when she remembers that she no longer has that piece of Sally with her. "I'm sorry, Sally," Jinx whispers aloud, worried that Sally is going to be disappointed in her for destroying the necklace, even if it means in the end she'll get back home to her. "I had to do it to get out of there alive. I hope you forgive me when I'm back home with you."

A nudge on her leg almost makes her jump until she realizes that it's one of the foxes urging her forward. So she takes a deep breath and adjusts her grip on her weapon. She sweeps her gaze over the open space of the City Circle, searching for the careers, but when she doesn't immediately see them, she starts to walk closer.

Yet as she starts to step closer to the Cornucopia, still keeping her weapon poised and ready to fire on any tribute despite her arms screaming out at the effort, she doesn't see anyone. She takes a wide path towards the opening of the Cornucopia, her feet slowing as she gets closer and tries to peer inside of it, thinking maybe they're waiting inside to ambush anyone that got close. She squints in the moonlight to see inside and past the weapons and supplies. But there's no one there.

Jinx starts to slowly turn, looking around her nervously and holding in an anxious laugh, knowing that they should be there. Why would they leave their camp completely unguarded?

If the careers aren't here…where are they?

* * *

 _Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight_

Kilroy's eyes struggle to stay open, her eyelids flickering as she stares down at the elevators from her vantage point at the top of the obstacle course of traps she has laid. Losing sleep the first night was easy, her fear keeping her moving as she set out the traps. It wasn't the first time she pulled an all nighter and she found it easier here than back in District Eight. Fear of death will do that to a person. She kept working through the second day, pausing only to eat the few plants at the identification station that she was absolutely positive were safe to eat. But as the day dragged on, Kilroy found herself struggling more to get work done, fighting the exhaustion making her muscles heavy and protesting each movement. She knows she'll have to sleep soon but wants to put it off as long as possible. Sleeping will leave her too vulnerable. She can't yet, not when her obstacle course of traps isn't complete yet.

It takes a few minutes for Kilroy to slowly start to realize that the flickering of the lights isn't just from her heavy eyelids. She squints up at the ceiling not too far above her and finds all the lights flickering, casting eerie shadows across the training room. Then, one by one, the lights farthest from her start flickering even more before completely shutting off. Kilroy tenses up as fear courses through her, instantly waking her up as she is slowly plunged into darkness. One hand tightly grips the new knife she grabbed while the other has a death grip on the rope net she sits in. Back home, Kilroy will be one of the first to admit that she's not the smartest person. But it doesn't take a genius right now to figure out what the darkness filling the training center means and the thought petrifies her.

She might have been setting traps all day, but she walked right into the Gamemakers' trap.

The lights start going out in rapid succession as Kilroy's heart races and she starts trembling in fear, all bravado she had about facing death head on and with a fight leaving her as the reality that now is the time hits her. She isn't ready to die. Shallow breaths make her chest rise and fall quickly as sweat covers her, her fear trapping her in place as she stares up in fear at the last three lights still on. The flickering stops for a few seconds and she stares up at the lights, desperately wanting to believe that they will keep these last few lights on. She doesn't want to be plunged into complete darkness, unable to know where her death is coming from. She is almost starting to believe that the Gamemakers will keep the lights on for the crowd, before the farthest of the three lights starts to flicker before dying out.

"No, no, no, please no," Kilroy begs as the second closest light begins to flicker as well. And then that light goes off, leaving just the single light above her. Kilroy cranes her neck, staring up at the light directly above, searching for any sign of it flickering. Seconds tick by as Kilroy breaths rapidly until then the light slowly starts to waver until it's flickering as quickly as her breaths.

And then she's plunged into darkness.

Kilroy stills as complete darkness surrounds her, trying to slow down her racing heart and panic by taking deep breaths, but it's useless. That is, until a small noise echoes in the room and she takes a sharp intake of breath.

 _Ding!_

Kilroy strains to see out into the darkness of the room, not daring to make a sound to alert whatever twisted mutt the Gamemakers have designed just to be her own personal hell. But she doesn't have to wait long until suddenly one beam of light appears, quickly followed by two more that start sweeping the floor of the training center.

"Are you sure she's down here?" One of the sources of the flashlights whispers to the other two as they stay put, still just sweeping their lights around the room but not venturing further, clearly as afraid of the complete darkness.

"Yes," a second person quickly responds, but from their tone, Kilroy can tell they aren't quite sure of their answer. "Why else would they have an elevator waiting for us and the stairs locked?"

"It could be a trap for us…" the first person hesitantly responds as they start shining their light up higher than floor level. "We do make up almost a third of the remaining tributes. Set up a trap, send the three of us in to take out one or two, even out the playing field for the others…"

It takes a few seconds for Kilroy to finally place the voices and when she does, she's not surprised at the three threats the Gamemakers have led down to her. Why wouldn't they send the three careers to take out what they see as the biggest threat: the person who earned a twelve in training?

"Only one way to find out for sure," the final person speaks up, not sounding as timid as the other two. "Unless you two are too afraid, then I'll take the lead and claim the victor title."

"No," the other two respond, and at that word, Kilroy is blinded by light as a bright beam is shone down from the ceiling, directly onto her.

"Told you," the third voice calls out triumphantly as they point their flashlight up at Kilroy. "They want us to find her."

Kilroy tenses up but knows she has nowhere to go. She gives herself a brief moment to think back on those at home, knowing she has to put up a fight for them. For her parents, who she's managed to keep shielded from this life she has had for their own safety, and now they are unaware of their daughter's impending death. For everyone she has done her best to protect for the last few years: Sabina, so new to their world; Faustus, always cracking wise remarks but always willing to protect everyone; Vex, the resentful girl who still mourns the loss of Kilroy's cousin; her Uncle Cassio, who brought her out of a boring life and into her present, yet she doesn't blame him for being here. Not when she's been the one responsible for her actions. And then there's the ones she's lost, people she's sure she's going to see again very soon.

Kilroy knows she can't back down now and has to make sure everyone watching back home believes she went out fighting and tried her best. And she wants to stick a big middle finger to the bastards that rigged her in here and show them all that she will not go down easily.

"Come and get me then!" Kilroy taunts them, mustering up whatever bravery she can. She will not just sit here and let them kill her without a fight. That just isn't who she is deep down. And if they think they have an easy fight ahead of them, they're sorely mistaken.

"How?" Pyrite questions as they shine the flashlight around the training center, unable to see just what is planned for them.

"Enough waiting, I'll get her," Ampora huffs as she steps forward and Kilroy hears the swish of a blade being pulled out of its sheath, making her fear return a bit. But as the career steps forward and the lights remain off in the rest of the training center, Kilroy starts smirking just a little bit in satisfaction. The Gamemakers will at least let the careers go through her traps. After all, they have to put on a good show for the Capitol.

Ampora reaches the base of the nets and platforms and pauses for a second before starting to climb up, her tall height making it easy for her to reach farther and avoid some of the lower traps Kilroy had set. She watches anxiously as the other two move forward, using their flashlights to shine extra light for Ampora.

But Kilroy sees the moment when Ampora makes a wrong move and steps on a trip wire, sending a spiked ball swinging right towards her. She has just enough time to try to put up an arm to block it, but all it does is make the chain catch on her arm and send the spikes towards her chest instead of her abdomen. Ampora cries out as the spikes pierce her flesh and she's knocked off balanced, sending her stepping back into a trap that sends a knife deep into her thigh.

Kilroy watches as the girl screams in pain and shaking hands reach towards the knife still embedded in her leg, only for her ally to yell out at her. "Don't touch it!"

"Don't touch the fucking knife in my leg?" Ampora screams back at her before letting out a yell of pain. "Really Muir? What am I supposed to do, sit here like a piece of skewered meat?"

"You could bleed out if that knife is removed!" Pyrite yells up, a bit of panic filling their voice as they look up at their ally, all while Kilroy watches to see who will dare to make the next move to reach her through her traps.

Kilroy watches the two on the ground consider their options with getting Ampora out of there, all while the girl groans in pain from her injuries. Kilroy is silently hoping for the others to dare her obstacle course, not realizing how many traps Ampora managed to avoid before finally setting one off.

Something whizzes past Kilroy's head and she has just enough time to realize it was a knife thrown towards her and feel relief that it missed. "You missed!" She taunts down at them, only to get a short chuckle in response as the knife clatters to the ground.

"I didn't," Muir tells her as Kilroy feels her weight shifting and glances up just as the rope holding her nest to the ceiling finishes unraveling and sends her tumbling to the ground.

Kilroy flails out to catch anything that will stop her from falling but everything slips through her fingers before she slams into the ground, crying out as a bone snaps in her arm and all the air is knocked out of her. She wheezes for breath as the pain in her arm makes her vision blur and she can just barely hear footsteps approaching her. She tries to pull up her arms to protect herself as she sees the two careers, sword and spear raised, only to start retching at the pain in her arm.

"Finish her quickly," one of them says, pity in their voice that just fills Kilroy with anger that she's viewed as less in their eyes, all because she wasn't born in a District that praises those training to kill children. Well she was born in a District that made a fighter. A fighter with barely enough oxygen filling her and the bone sticking out of her arm, but still a fighter. Somewhere in the fall, Kilroy lost her knife, but Faustus long ago taught her how to fight dirty, unlike these careers with their 'proper' training centers. They've learned to fight for glory but Kilroy learned to fight for survival.

As Muir starts bringing down her spear, Kilroy musters as much strength as she can and swings out her leg. The career lets out a noise of surprise as she starts falling backwards, but it isn't enough to stop the path of her spear, only deflect it, and Kilroy used up all her energy trying to knock the career to the ground.

Kilroy gasps as the spear pierces her abdomen and coughs, feeling blood pouring out of her mouth. Searing hot pain spreads through her stomach, intensifying as the career gets back up, clutching the back of her head and swaying, or maybe that's Kilroy's vision spinning as the pain threatens to pull her unconscious. "No…" she moans out as Muir pulls the spear out of her, feebly pressing her hand against her wound, but she still feels hot blood pouring out past her fingers. She's dying, there's no denying it…everyone she loves is watching her die right now and there's nothing more she could have done to stop it. She did her best against the death sentence given to her. She didn't wait idly for them to find her and she might have taken down a career. Wouldn't that be great.

Satisfaction at the knowledge that she went down fighting pulls up the corners of her mouth as her vision starts to blacken, going dark just after she sees the spear being brought down one more time. One last thought fills her head and she clings to it instead of the thought of her death.

 _At least she'll see Drusa soon._

* * *

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

Shouts bring Tanelai sharply out of her sleep and she quickly sits up, glancing around in fear and reaching out towards the axe lying beside her. She meets Garth's gaze, finding his face mirroring the fear on hers before they continue to look out the glass windows of the shop until they find the source of the shouting.

"Ow!" A person yells at their two allies as they start to come down the street of shops that Tanelai and Garth's is on, and Tanelai's blood runs cold when she recognizes the three people walking their way. Well, two walking while dragging the third between them, all three covered in blood.

"It's the careers," Garth whispers over her shoulder, voice shaking and confirming her worst fears. They've been discovered. Or if they haven't yet, they will soon.

Tanelai doesn't want to die. She _can't_ die.

Desperate thoughts start to fill Tanelai as she stares out at the three careers stumbling their way into one of the nearby shops, leaving a trail of blood in their wake as they struggle to get Ampora through the door. Muir and Pyrite are so focused on their ally, they didn't even look around at the shops surrounding them, filled with mannequins that could be hiding tributes. They didn't notice Tanelai and Garth nearby. Her hands start gripping her axe tighter as dangerous thoughts start to fill her head.

With the cannon from just a little while ago, a cannon she's sure the careers caused – there's no way all that blood is just Ampora's – their numbers have been brought down to nine left in the arena. A _third_ of the tributes remaining are right there, completely unaware of her nearby and armed, too focused on taking care of an injured ally that needs to die for them to win. Can she continue to remain unnoticed by them and sneak closer? Could she bring down the number of competition remaining and get herself one step closer to home?

But can Tanelai kill? There's really only one way she's going to find out and it's not by sitting around and waiting for a tribute to find them.

" _Tanelai, don't do something that is going to get you hurt."_

She blinks a few times at the words, her focus leaving the careers nearby and going back to District Seven. She can clearly hear the words from Daram, always there to stop her from really getting in trouble or getting hurt.

"Tanelai."

She jumps at the hand on her shoulder that gently shakes her and brings her focus back to the arena, but as she does, her eyes start watering in fear and longing for life before her name was ever called out at the Reaping. Because it wasn't Daram whispering in her head, telling her to stay safe. He's the one actually safe, tucked away in his home in Seven, anxiously watching her now and probably screaming at her to move away from the careers.

Instead it's Garth trying to keep her safe, trying to protect her, and for a moment, she forgot about that. It had been so easy to think for a moment that Garth was Daram, and she knows why. It was the reason she was drawn to him right away and finds it so easy to talk to him. The reason she has tried to get him motivated and to keep fighting.

Garth reminds her all too much of her best friend and the person she would do anything to get back home to, and it's going to absolutely destroy her to watch anything happen to him. Yet Tanelai knows she'll have to watch that happen or know that she will be responsible for destroying the person she's trying to get home to.

Can she live with her guilt over Garth's death or die knowing she'll have broken every promise she made to the person she loves to get home to him?

As much as the answer hurts her…Tanelai knows she can never knowingly cause pain to Daram. She'd rather die than see that, but she supposes dying in this case would cause exactly that. And that thought alone is what gets Tanelai to make her decision, even if it will temporarily destroy her. Because she has to get home to Daram. She loves that doof more than anything. She's missed him so much and being separated and not knowing if she'll see him again has made her heart ache this whole time. So it's really shouldn't be a surprise that she has clung on to the one person here that reminds her so much of Daram.

Tanelai takes a deep breath, knowing she has to start distancing herself from Garth. If she doesn't, she's never going to survive his death. She might physically survive, but she knows she'll be haunted by his death for the rest of her life, always being reminded of him whenever she looks at Daram.

And getting home to Daram means not recklessly running in and trying to kill one of the careers as they're unaware.

Tanelai relaxes her grip on her axe slightly, but keeps her gaze focused on where the careers have disappeared into the shop. She doesn't dare put down her axe, not with the threat nearby. She also can't bring herself to look over at her ally right now, not now that she has to start distancing herself from him. But it's so hard to not have the comfort of her ally when they're in this hell.

Tanelai shuts her eyes for a few seconds and takes a deep breath, trying to keep reminding herself of what she has to do. _Get it together, Tanelai. You both can't get out of here alive._

"Tanelai?" Garth asks her, his voice full of concern for her that has her cursing in her head and struggling with what she has to do. How is she supposed to distance herself when it doesn't seem like he will do the same?

"We need to get moving," Tanelai finally whispers to him as she carefully picks up her bag and puts it on her shoulder, doing her best not to make any loud noises that will alert the nearby careers. "We can't risk them finding us."

"Right…" Garth responds softly and Tanelai watches from the corner of her eye as Garth mimics her actions, picking up his own bag before turning towards her. Seconds tick by that slowly turn into minutes before Tanelai finally looks over at him, finding his face full of fear as he stares at her. "Do you really think we can sneak past them?"

"I don't know," Tanelai answers honestly and with a shrug, not quite confident in her abilities to stay quiet enough as they leave the shop. "But…we can't wait around for them to find us. I'm not dying here."

Tanelai starts walking towards the door, doing her best to keep her gaze down on the floor and not on her ally. Not after seeing a flicker of surprise and…was that hurt? She doesn't know what emotion it was on Garth's face, but she does her best not to let her thoughts linger on it.

Yet they do, taking away too much of her attention and her hip catches on one of the mannequins she tries to maneuver around, sending it crashing to the ground. Garth takes a sharp intake of breath as Tanelai curses under her breath, immediately searching around to see if the careers have heard them. But how could they have not heard? And now they're trapped in this building. Just what she was trying to avoid.

Tanelai starts hyperventilating out of fear and almost swings her axe at Garth when he puts a hand on her shoulder, leaning close to whisper in her ear. "Pretend to be a mannequin."

"What?" Tanelai confusedly asks, fear stopping her brain from thinking straight.

"The mannequins!" Garth points down at the mannequin she knocked over as he puts down his bag and tries to pose like one of them. When Tanelai doesn't move, too frozen in fear at the sight of Pyrite leaving the shop the careers were in and heading their way, Garth quickly grabs her things and forces her frozen body to pose. "Stay still," he whispers as he freezes up behind her and there's no way Tanelai won't follow his words. Not when fear is holding her in place. "The lights don't work in here. As long as they don't look too closely…we might get away."

"And if not?" Tanelai whispers back, barely moving her mouth to speak as Pyrite stops in front of their shop, swinging their flashlight into the glass window and casting human shaped shadows across the wall.

"Then we hope they also got injured in that fight."

Tanelai's breath catches as the flashlight passes over them, seemingly lingering on them. She swears she sees a glint of recognition in Pyrite's eyes and as the light moves to a different section of the shop, their eyes linger in their direction.

Long, tense seconds pass that feel like minutes, all the while Tanelai holds her breath as her palms start sweating, desperate to feel the grip of her axe in them again but petrified in place by Pyrite's gaze.

Tanelai has no idea how much time has passed held in fear until Pyrite finally turns away from them and returns to the shop across the street from them. Yet Tanelai stays still, not trusting the supposed safety. "Did they see us? Are they just going back to get Muir to make sure they kill us?"

"We can't stay to find out," Garth responds as he grabs both of their bags and swings them up on his shoulders. He holds onto her axe as he gently but firmly starts pushing her towards the door. "Come on."

Garth takes her hand and starts pulling her through the shop, making her feet stumble on the floor as she tries to move her tense muscles. He waits at the door for a moment, staring out into the darkness lit by the abnormally bright moon, before gently opening the door and rushing with her into the alley next to their shop. Tanelai can't help but keep glancing back over her shoulder, positive that at any moment the careers are going to run after them or she's going to get a knife in her back.

When she turns back to Garth, her fear only magnifies when she realizes he's taken away her one defense. "My axe," she harshly whispers to him as he hesitates at the parallel street, leaning out to glance both ways before leading her across the street. "I need my axe!"

"Can it wait until we're safe from them?" Garth whispers over his shoulder at her as he picks up his pace.

But this makes Tanelai dig her feet into the ground and rip her hand out of his, too driven by adrenaline and survival instincts. "Give me my axe." Tanelai tells him, holding out her hand to him.

Hurt passes through his eyes at her tone and he glances around the street that they're standing in the middle of right now. "Why now?"

"I just need it," Tanelai answers, watching as he struggles with trusting her with the weapon. She motions with her hand for the axe as her heart pounds in her chest, the adrenaline pumping through her making her focus purely on survival and protecting herself. "Please," she desperately whispers to him.

Garth takes a look down at the axe in his hands before looking up and down the street, seemingly fighting his own internal battle on what to do. But finally, he reaches out with the axe and holds out the handle to Tanelai, finally making the decision to trust her. She quickly grabs it, immediately feeling a bit safer with the cool metal in her hands. "Can we keep moving now?"

Tanelai nods her head as she holds the axe tightly up against her chest, and then they start running towards buildings in the distance that they have not yet explored. All the while, Tanelai keeps glancing over her shoulder, the look on Pyrite's face earlier making her paranoid and wondering when Pyrite will attack. Because she could have sworn Pyrite saw them.

But why would Pyrite not have killed them if they saw them standing in the shop?

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _ **Beau Cheshire, Ranked 11th, Killed by Pyrite [1]:**_

 _Beau was a very good kiddo who deserved better than having Jinx as his District partner. Really, if he had been with any other tribute, he would have probably been their ally and have been shown more. He tried his best as a non-featured tribute to survive, but alas, he would not last for long. RIP Beau._

 ** _Luciana Kilroy, Ranked 10th, Killed by Muir [4]:_**

 _Oh Kilroy. Kilroy is one of the tributes I've come up with that has had one of the crazier backstories and I've always loved her. She was just so fun and layered, trying to keep herself back from people to stop herself from being destroyed if she lost them, yet still caring so much for them. I knew there death was coming and I knew their death was going to be great, but it still hurt a lot to write out her death and say goodbye to her. RIP Kilroy. At least she can now be happy with Drusa._

 **So here we are, the end of Night Two! And we are also at the first featured tribute death since the bloodbath! The action isn't going to really die down in these Games, not with this cast of tributes, so you better buckle up because we're going to really get into it soon XD**

 **Don't forget that sponsoring is open for this story! The link for the form and spreadsheet with points is up on my profile. And the blog has been updated with arena info!**

 **As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Where do you think the Gamemakers are leading Jinx? Is Ampora going to survive the wounds from Kilroy? And did Pyrite see Tanelai and Garth or not? Stay tuned to find out what happens next XD**

 **RQ #24:** Would you get attached to allies like Tanelai or stay distant from them?

 **Alrighty, I will see you all soon with Day Three! I can't wait to show you everything I have planned!**


	31. Day Three: Carry On

**Chapter 28:**

 _Day Three_

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

Muir's head is throbbing and exhaustion makes all her limbs heavy as they finally stumble back into the city circle as the first rays of sun light up the glass buildings surrounding them. She briefly puts up a hand to shield her eyes while her other uses her spear as a crutch. Part of her feels bad for leaving Pyrite to support Ampora on their own, but at the same time, she's too tired to care. Not after a night of Pyrite keeping her awake out of fear that she might have a concussion from Kilroy knocking her down.

Muir glances over at Pyrite, again questioning why they had been so protective of her. They hadn't slept at all either, taking care of both Muir's head and Ampora's leg. She…doesn't understand and she doesn't think she wants to know why Pyrite was helping them when so many other tributes would have just abandoned them. Or worse, killed them when they were most vulnerable. Yet Muir finds herself grateful for what Pyrite has done, even if she knows that's a dangerous train of thoughts to have. Would she have done the same thing for Pyrite if the situation was reversed?

She really doesn't know the answer to that and it worries her.

"Here we go," Pyrite says, mustering up just enough cheer to not sound like they just pulled an all nighter while caring for their two allies. They gently set Ampora down on the steps, helping prop up her injured leg before sitting down next to her. They stare at the bloodied bandages for a moment before sighing as Muir sits down on their other side. "I think we can stitch this up better with whatever supplies are in the cornucopia."

"Do it," Ampora spits out through clenched teeth as Pyrite quickly jogs over to their supplies. Ampora leans back and Muir does the same, using her backpack to rest her head on. But as she shuts her eyes, the throbbing in her head becomes even worse and she groans in annoyance. Ampora chuckles and Muir opens her eyes to look over at her, finding her ally's face paler than normal and with a thin sweat on her forehead. "We got wrecked. We got wrecked by an outer District tribute." Ampora shakes her head at this and starts peeling up the bandages on her leg to look at the wound. "I guess she did deserve a high score."

"Yeah," Muir says with a short laugh, shaking her head a bit as she assesses her alliance. The only one that didn't get injured by Kilroy is Pyrite, but they are clearly suffering now from the lack of sleep. Muir doesn't have any injuries that she has to worry about getting infected, but her headache is the worst she's ever had. And Ampora's leg…well, it's safe to say she's not going anywhere today. None of them are. "Might be a bit of an understatement."

"Hey guys…" Pyrite calls out nervously from the opening of the Cornucopia and Muir sits up right away to look over at them, but has to pause as her head spins.

"What's wrong?" Muir answers, trying to stand up to help them against the unknown threat, even if her legs are protesting the movement.

"Don't get up," Pyrite tells her, their voice relaxing a bit as they take a few steps over towards them. But their eyes are looking around anxiously and their hand rests on the hilt of their sword. They don't continue until they stand right in front of Muir and Ampora, taking a few seconds to stare around before crouching down in front of them so they can whisper. "Someone was definitely here."

Muir tenses up immediately and grips her spear as Ampora curses next to her and tries to sit up. She starts looking around too for any immediate threat, but can't see anyone. Yet it doesn't stop her heart from racing as she turns back to Pyrite looking very concerned. "Who could it have been? We can't fight off some of the others right now."

"I don't know," Pyrite answers quietly as they sit down on the step below Ampora's leg. They try to look busy as they start peeling off the bandages, but Muir can see the way their eyes are sharp as they glance around them. If someone is still nearby, Pyrite is doing their best not to notify them that they know. "Whoever it was must have stayed close after the bloodbath to know we were all gone. And be bold enough to sneak in here to steal our supplies."

"I knew we shouldn't have all left," Muir shakes her head, wishing she would have listened to Pyrite last night when they suggested someone stay behind to guard the supplies. But she hadn't wanted to take the risk if they did find Kilroy…none of them were certain if she actually earned the score or if the Gamemakers purposely gave it to her. But as she glances at her two allies, she knows they would be in a lot worse shape if only two of them had gone, maybe even dead. She sighs at this, torn about the thought of her allies being dead. Instead of focusing on the thought, she goes back to the missing supplies. "How badly did they clean things out?"

"Not too bad," Pyrite shakes their head and shrugs a tiny bit. "Looks like mostly some food and water, some other small supplies. We just have to be a bit more careful about how much we eat and drink."

"But no weapons?" Muir asks, both confused and nervous when Pyrite shakes their head no at her. "That's…not good. Not at all."

"It was probably that cocky bastard Stark," Ampora scowls at the thought of her District partner and Muir knows she's probably right. And if she is, they have a lot to be worried about.

Pyrite sighs at this, their face unreadable. "We need to get healed up then if we have any hope of taking him on. Yeah, there's three of us, but…"

Pyrite trails off and they all look at each other, knowing how they would have finished that sentence. Sure, there's three of them, but one has a leg injury that's started bleeding again, another might have a concussion, and one is exhausted from staying up all night to care for the two injured ones. There's no way they would beat Stark in their current state. "Well let's hope that it was someone else."

"If it was Stark, I need to get up to full strength again. So, my leg," Ampora says, getting the topic back to her wound. "It would be great if you had some pain killers in there and something to stop the bleeding."

"Yeah I grabbed a medicine kit from there," Pyrite tells her and after one more look around, Pyrite turns their focus to Ampora's leg as they pull out a small medical kit from their coat pocket. They take out a large pill and stare at it for a moment before pulling out a small syringe instead. "This stuff is going to knock you out…but it's going to really take the pain away and I can get you patched up."

"Stick me, then," Ampora says without much thought of the consequences of being unconscious in the arena. "This pain is a bitch."

"Alright then," Pyrite responds but Muir watches them hesitate to stick Ampora with the needle, until the girl from Two finally grabs it from them and slams it into her arm. "Have a good nap, I guess."

"No one draw stupid shit on my face while I'm out," Ampora tells them and Muir almost starts laughing at the suggestion, before Ampora gives her a look that cuts her off. Instead, she clears her throat and nods her head at her ally.

"We'll keep you safe," Pyrite tells her quietly as she leans back on the stairs, using her bag as a pillow.

"You better," Ampora says, her words already starting to slur from the pain killers. "I gotta fight S-Stark."

"You will, friend," Pyrite chuckles as they pat her hand and watch her fall asleep within a minute, but Muir is too busy staring at Pyrite. Do they really think of them as friends? And why does Muir feel disappointed that Pyrite called Ampora their friend but not her?

"I'll keep an eye out while you patch her up," Muir says, even though she so badly just wants to sleep, but she can see the worry in Pyrite's eyes and can't leave them unaware as they try to patch up Ampora.

"Thanks," Pyrite answers before taking a deep breath as they stare down at the kit in their lap. "Is now a bad time to mention that I have shaky hands?"

Muir chuckles at this and shakes her head, trying to fight off the smile that wants to form. "Is now a bad time to mention I don't do well seeing injuries up close?"

Pyrite does laugh loudly at this, but quickly puts a hand over their mouth to quiet themself, just in case whoever stole supplies is still around. "Yeah it is," they chuckle softly at this, grinning over at Muir. "We are in the Hunger Games right now and surrounded by injuries," they say, trying to joke with her but Muir notices their face falters at the mention of the Games and injuries. Before Muir has time to really think about this, they quickly turn away from her and back to Ampora's injury, clearly avoiding her gaze. "Well I suppose I should stitch this up before the pain meds wear off and she wakes up."

"Yeah, probably," Muir responds and she watches Pyrite for a few more seconds, wondering if she will see more conflicting emotions pass over her ally's face. Not knowing if she should ask about it or not, Muir clears her throat and tries to change the topic a bit. "I'll do my best not to pass out from exhaustion while you do that so I can keep an eye out."

"Thank you," Pyrite answers softly before taking a deep breath and sitting up a bit. "Alright, let's do this."

Muir does her best not to look at what Pyrite is doing to Ampora's leg and instead scanning the area around them. But with each minute, the arena grows brighter and the sun reflecting off the buildings is blinding her, and also making her headache worse. She squints and uses her hand to shield her eyes, but she's still blinded.

A few minutes go by until she hears a soft pinging noise and it takes a few seconds for her to glance up and see the small container gently being lowered to her by a silver parachute. "Huh," she says, not knowing how to react to the container landing in her lap, a '4' on the side. She hasn't done much right now to earn anything…but she won't turn down the sponsor gift.

Muir pops open the lid and has to laugh a bit as she pulls out the big floppy sun hat with 'Fuck off' written in bold letters on the brim. "You can tell Okeanas had a say in this," Muir laughs again as she puts the hat on her head, finally getting shielded from some of the sun, as Pyrite shakes their head while trying to hold in a laugh. Muir returns to her gazing around, able to relax more now that she's not struggling to see. It's so much better with the hat on…

"Are you falling asleep?"

"Huh?" Muir asks with a start, sitting up suddenly and blinking a couple times at Pyrite. They're staring at her, one eyebrow raised as they try to keep an amused look off their face. "I wasn't sleeping."

"Yeah, sure," Pyrite teases her as Muir yawns loudly, proving their point. "Do I need to keep talking to you to keep you awake?"

Muir considers this for a moment before another yawn slips out. "Yeah probably…" she trails off, not really sure what to talk about right now. She's never had a friend before and doesn't know what to do to fill the silences with them.

"Are you doing okay?" Pyrite asks them quietly as they lean closer to Ampora's leg, delicately stitching the wound shut.

"I have a killer headache but yeah, I'm okay," Muir answers and Pyrite brings up their gaze to her, and she knows that's not what they really meant. She can see in their eyes the question they want to ask, but are afraid to speak up in the arena where people are watching their every move. "I'm…doing alright. I keep waiting for it to hit, you know?"

"Yeah…" Pyrite clears their throat and quickly turns back to their work, but not before Muir sees the pain in their eyes and knows that it's hit for them. They are already feeling the guilt of killing.

Muir doesn't understand why it hasn't hit her yet that she's taken lives… Is there something wrong with her for not feeling something? But she's seen death before, up close and personal as she watched it wither away the strongest person she knew. Why would the deaths of strangers affect her that way? "How are you doing?" Muir asks, wanting to get away from these thoughts.

"I'm…" Pyrite sighs and goes silent again as they finish up the last of their stitches. They carefully wipe the area with an antibacterial wipe before finally sitting back and looking at Muir. "I'll be alright."

But they won't be. Muir can see that right away from the look in their eyes. Before she can stop herself, she reaches out and takes Pyrite's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to try and comfort them a little bit. "We'll both be alright."

Except they won't be. Not in the end. But it's nice to pretend for a few moments that there could be a world where Muir can have both her father and Pyrite in her life.

* * *

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

Beta hadn't meant to fall asleep. He can't afford sleep when there are too many spells to cast in preparation for his revenge. He had cast a spell at midnight – the perfect time for curses – and decided to stay up until sunrise to cast protection spells on himself, knowing he must be prepared for everything in this fight. But as Beta squints out the window and cranes his neck to see the sun up high in the sky, he knows he's slept past noon.

Beta shakes his head as he tries to scramble to his feet, but as he stands, his head spins and he tries to grab the counter to right himself. But the surface he grabs tips over, making him fall to the ground and send medical tools scattering around him. He lands hard on his hip and groans at the impact, rolling onto his back and staring up at the harsh blinding lights. The lights spin and he blinks, trying to get a sense of what is going on. He must have just stood up a little too quickly.

Once the lights stop spinning, Beta slowly sits up, but his head starts throbbing from the motion. He looks around the room, trying to get it together after sleeping for so long and not really having an idea of how much time has passed. He rubs his eyes, trying to get the sleepiness to go away, but it's not going anywhere.

Instead, anger at himself slowly starts to build up in him. He shouldn't have fallen asleep. He wasted so much precious time that he could have spent working towards bringing Copper back. He should have been awake and using that time to cast more spells that will help him take down the one that caused him so much grief.

He's a failure.

"I'm letting you down," Beta whispers out loud, hoping Copper will be able to hear him and his apology. He shakes his head as his eyes start to sting, bringing a headache with it. "I'm sorry."

Beta leans against the wall, lightly hitting his head against it, just enough to bring some clarity from the pain as wet hot tears start to fall down his cheeks. He's never going to bring Copper back if he can't even keep himself awake to cast the spells he needs to bring her back. He starts slamming his fist against his thigh, bringing new pain as he keeps striking spots where he carved runes into his skin for the spells. Spells he never finished because he was _weak._ Weak and unable to fight off basic human needs. Copper never would have given in to these needs if the situation was reversed. But she never would have taken this long to bring him back. She was so skilled already at her age and she would have been past his skill by now. "I'm a failure!" Beta yells as he slams his head back hard, making black spots appear in his vision. _Good._ He deserves the pain from not doing more.

Beta starts sliding down against the wall to the floor, losing the little bit of energy he had from his rage and wanting to curl up and cry. It's the third day and he hasn't done anything yet. He hasn't gotten his revenge for his allies. He hasn't found the boy that screamed at him for being a cursed child in training. He hasn't even left the hospital, having found most of the supplies he needs for some of his spells in the building. Spells he failed to complete.

Part of him just wants to stay curled up on the floor here and just give up. He couldn't protect his allies. He hasn't been able to get revenge against them. Why should he even keep trying?

Beta stares out at the tools scattered on the floor in front of him as tears fall down. A dull ache is in all of him, but especially his head and stomach. He considers reaching out to the tool closest to him, a horrifying looking circular saw, to do his best to continue the spells, but can't even muster up enough energy for that. His stomach makes a loud, extended noise and Beta puts a hand to it, hoping a bit of pressure will stop the stabbing pain. When was the last time he ate? He knows when he last had water, having stopped for a few sips whenever he passed the drinking fountain in the hallway. But food? He has no idea…maybe before the Games even started. He can't say, his focus having been all on his allies and getting Copper back to him.

However long it's been…he probably shouldn't have waited this long. Now the exhaustion and sadness are keeping him fixed in place, not wanting to even waste the energy to sit up or wipe away his tears. Tears that start anew as he realizes he's letting down the most important person to him. He's letting down Tracer and that's the worst.

How can he just lay here when they promised they would cast as many spells as possible to protect him? He's failing them too…he's the one person in the world that they can count on – their parents cast them out for being who they are, the people in school have shunned them, taking the word of the popular kids over theirs, and they don't have any other friends. And here he is, wallowing in self-pity. "I'm sorry, Tracer…" Beta sniffles before turning his face towards the ground, not wanting his closest friend to see him all pitiful like this. Yet he needs their help now more than ever. He needs some sort of spell from them to help him. "Please help…"

Beta rests his head on the floor and shuts his eyes, trying to take deep breaths to stop the pain stabbing him in the stomach. But nothing he does is stopping it, making him grow more frustrated in himself. He starts hitting his head against the ground, increasing in strength to distract himself from the pain in his stomach. _Get it together for Tracer, Beta._ Beta stops hitting his head on the floor, starting to feel a bruise form already in the spot as he rests his forehead against the cool glass.

Suddenly a gentle pinging starts to fill the room and Beta slowly turns his head to the side, having to blink a few times to focus on the bright silver object floating down towards him. It lands with a small thud next to his head and Beta stares at the '3' painted on the side. He reaches out to trace the number, in a bit of disbelief that this could really be for him. But he's the only one around and Digit is dead. It has to be for him. Somehow, Tracer must have cast a spell to help him get this gift. They did this for _him._ Now what is he doing for them?

And with that thought, Beta slowly pulls himself up into a sitting position, having to rest against the wall and shut his eyes for a few seconds as the world spins around him. He finally opens his eyes and grabs the small canister and pulls it to him. The lid pops open easily and as he eyes the small packets of food in it, his mouth starts watering and his stomach grumbles loudly. Beta doesn't even think twice as he grabs the first small packet of nuts and rips it open, tipping the entire contents back into his mouth at once. He lets out a small noise of happiness at the taste of peanuts and he tries to take his time chewing to savor it. But his stomach is thinking differently and before he knows it, he's reaching in for another packet of food.

As Beta rips into the second packet and nibbles on a piece of jerky, starting to feel himself getting reenergized already from the little bit of food in his stomach, his eyes spot a piece of paper tucked into the canister. He sets down the jerky in his lap and reaches in for the piece of paper, dangerous hope bubbling up in him that the note will be from Tracer. Beta holds up the paper, briefly wiping away dirt from his glasses with his finger, only to make it worse. He takes off the glasses and holds the paper up close, just like he would back home, and reads the quickly scrawled notes from his mentor. _'You are not a failure. Please sleep and take care of yourself. You can't win if you burn yourself out before finding the others. Please, Beta.'_

Beta crumples up the note and holds it in his fist as he takes a deep breath in through his nose, trying not to get angry at his mentor telling him what to do. But he _is_ a failure. He hasn't gotten his revenge yet and he's just been sitting in here. Beta starts shaking his head at the note and his mentor asking him to sleep and waste more time here. He _has_ to find Jinx, she doesn't understand. She's his way of finally getting Copper back! He already wasted time today and he can't just stop now and wait. What if someone else finds Jinx first? He would never forgive Isidore if she made him wait and someone killed Jinx during that time. No, he has to keep moving. He has gone sleepless nights before, he can go another one. He just can't stop searching…Copper wouldn't want him to stop trying to bring her back. And that girl he's going to use as the sacrifice deserves to die. She deserves a worse death than what he'll give her in the spell, but it won't matter when Beta sees the life leave her eyes and get replaced with the vitality that was once in his sister's eyes.

"I can't stop," he whispers out loud to his mentor before tossing the crumpled up note to the side. Beta dumps out the contents of his small bag before he starts stuffing the three remaining packets of food into the small bag. He pulls the scalpel out of the tangles of rope and eyes the sharp edge of the blade, knowing he will use it to spill blood before this is over. The blade is perfect for cutting into flesh and it will be the perfect tool for the spell he casts to bring Copper's soul into that cursed girl's body.

Beta gently sets the scalpel down next to him and picks up the pile of tangled rope. He slowly starts to detangle it, nibbling on a piece of jerky as he winds it into a clean loop. Once looped, he slips it over his head and one shoulder so it won't get tangled again and he'll have it easily accessible for the fight since he doubts the girl will just sit there and let him kill her.

Beta stares at the blanket he sits on for a moment before deciding against packing it in his bag. It will only take up space and weigh him down. Besides, he doesn't want to waste time sleeping. He doubts he'll come back here anyways. He won't, not until that girl is dead and he has Copper back.

"Tracer, I will need your best protection spell," Beta says out loud as he puts the bag on his shoulder. "I'm not resting until I find that girl and get Copper back."

Beta rips off another bite of jerky as he storms out of the room, ready to search all day and night if he has to. He will find that girl, even if it's the last thing he does. A thought stops Beta in his tracks as he stares down the hallway, something he doesn't know how he hadn't thought of before. Bringing Copper back might very well be the last thing he ever does. If he gets her back in the body of that cursed girl…she'll be a tribute in the arena with him. And there's no spell he can cast that will make the Capitol change how many victors there are. The thought makes his eyes start stinging once more as he realizes he won't even get to spend time with Copper again before he takes a shaky breath and blinks away the tears. So be it. If he has to die to let his sister become the victor, he will do it. He would do anything for her. But he would also do anything for Tracer and they need him back home, just as much as Copper needs him to bring her back.

Beta leans against the wall, torn between two people that he loves. How is he supposed to choose between them?

* * *

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District Eleven_

Addae couldn't put this off any longer. As much as he wanted to avoid the possibility of killing – or, even worse, fighting for his own life – it's going to happen eventually. No, he cannot wait any longer to venture out into the arena on the search for food. Addae eyes the empty can of soup next to him, wishing it would have lasted him longer than three days, but he couldn't ration it any further. Not with how weak he is already from barely eating. He's had days before in Eleven of going hungry, but never to this extent… His family had always made sure to feed him well for this task they gave him. But three days in and his belly is cramping in pain and he finds basic movement requiring more energy than usual. He'll be lucky if he can survive another two days without any more food.

And that means Addae has to leave the relative safety of this building.

Addae is hoping with the small number of tributes remaining his odds of running into another tribute will be low. At least at this point there's very few alliances intact. He could take on Tanelai and Garth…maybe. Or maybe they'll want to avoid the fighting. He couldn't take on Stark alone, he knows that for sure, so he hopes he'll avoid the career from Two. The cursed children would be others he could take on in a fight and he knows he'll have to eventually…but why not push that back some more? He has to hope that the careers are not on the hunt for tributes this afternoon. Otherwise, it will mean almost certain death. He won't outrun three tributes that have bellies full of food and endurance training. He has none of that.

Addae shuts his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, doing his best to calm himself and prepare for what he is about to do. There's no room for the creeping worry in the back of his head about who he might accidentally run into or fear about taking a life. But just because he says he can't have those thoughts distracting him, doesn't mean he can just easily push them aside. The fear is still there as he opens up his eyes and steps over to the door. Today might be the day he finally has to take a life and face the guilt that will come with it. He doesn't think he could kill any of the tributes here and not feel at least some guilt for taking the life, even the cursed child, because a life is still a life and he's always been raised to honor life. Which is why he must stop these Games from continuing.

"Okay Addae, just walk out the door," he tells himself as he stands in front of the glass door, yet his feet stay firmly planted on the ground. He knows what he needs to do, yet he can't help but procrastinate stepping outside. It's just so…very bright outside and he'll be spotted so easily walking down the city streets. This was why he wanted to go out last night when he could hide in the cover of night. The careers had stopped that plan yesterday and based on the cannon that sounded not too long after he spotted them, he would say they were successful. That cannon could have been for him if he had ventured out last night. He was right in listening to his gut intuition to stay inside. But now there are no careers in sight and the only thing his gut is telling him now is to hurry up and get some food already. "Just got to walk outside. There's no one out there."

But there could be. He just might not see them yet. Or there could be any sort of trap set by the Gamemakers that he walks right into…or they could send him into a trap right in here for not doing anything.

That last thought has Addae all but running outside, terrified of getting killed by the Gamemakers. But once he's taken a few steps outside, he stops and starts carefully searching the area around him, hand tight around his knife as he tries to see if there's anyone near him. To his right he scans over the set of buildings around what looks to be a small park and while the plants would be useful, there's no guarantee there will be anything he can use. Plus those buildings are closer to the city circle and possibly closer to the careers. He turns to his left, eyeing the path heading northwest to a large glass building that takes up a huge amount of space in the arena. Addae squints at it, trying to make sense of the building and what it could be since it's unlike the ones he has passed, but can't make out any distinguishable features from the distance with the sun shining against it. He supposes he'll have to just go there and find out.

Addae is slow walking over to the building, constantly looking around him and waiting for some tribute to run towards him or for some sign in the form of a gut feeling telling him to turn back. Yet no feeling comes, only increased hunger and sweat starting to trail down his back from the sun overhead. He's unsure how much time has passed since he left, but soon he reaches the building without any incident from another tribute or Gamemaker trap.

Addae pauses near the entrance and stares up at the glass building, just barely making out a symbol carved into the glass above the door. But no matter how long he stares, he can't figure out what the twisting figure is but his gut doesn't have an ill response to it, so he decides to enter the building.

Cool air rushes against him as the glass doors slide open in front of him and Addae hesitantly holds out the knife in front of him, squinting to see into the darker room. Slowly, he enters the room, taking time to look around and let his eyes get adjusted first before stepping further into the building. Rows of mirrored chairs sit to his left and right on either side of a walkway up to a long front counter. Addae walks a good distance away from the counter to the side of it, worried a tribute could be hiding behind the mirrors. He lets out a sigh of relief when he finds no one there before walking behind it to start rummaging through the desk. But all the drawers are empty, making his stomach only rumble more that he hasn't found food yet.

Addae turns around to the door behind the counter and slowly heads inside, still holding the knife out in front of him as he scans the room. Immediately, a smile forms on his face and he lowers his knife when he sees the small kitchen in the room and there's even a fridge. Addae jogs over to it and yanks the door open. He stares inside, his smile slowly fading as he realizes there's nothing in it. He checks the freezer, growing more hopeless about finding food, and again it's empty. Addae takes a couple steps back, trying not to get upset at not finding any food here. Of course the Gamemakers wouldn't place food right here when you just walk into the building. They'll want them to search for it.

Addae allows himself to have a brief sigh of disappointment before he turns around to leave the room and stops immediately. On the wall opposite him stands a machine filled with snacks in a row, a light shining down on them. "Good," Addae whispers as he walks over to it, eyeing out the machine and how he's going to get the food inside it. He crouches down and sticks his hand up through the flap at the bottom, yet he can't reach his hand in quite far enough to grab anything. He stands back up, running his hand along the edge of the window to see if there's any gap where it will open. But it's sealed shut, with only a small key hole indicating where it could be opened.

Addae takes a few steps back, eyeing the glass front of it for a few seconds and considering attempting to break it. But as he stares at it, his stomach starts to twist just before he sees a figure walking through the lobby. Addae drops down to the floor and hides behind the machine, hoping the tribute hadn't spotted him. _Please,_ let the tribute not see him. He is not ready to take a life.

Seconds pass as Addae strains to hear any sounds from the other tribute while trying to keep his breathing slow. He can't stand not seeing where they are and slowly peaks his head around the machine, just enough to see through the one way mirrored wall. And as soon as he does, his hand starts gripping his knife even harder.

Addae just catches a glimpse of red hair as the tribute walks past the counter, mumbling something about curses. Addae's whole body is tense as he crouches there, trying not to make any noise that would alert the cursed child that he is there. He listens to the mumblings from the cursed child, shutting his eyes to focus more, and silently praying that he will keep walking past and not notice him. But when he doesn't hear footsteps anymore, he quickly opens his eyes again and scans the room.

The cursed child stands in front of the doorway, rummaging in his bag and taking out a small packet of food. He uses a small metal blade to slice it open and starts snacking on the contents as he stares outside at the sky. "No good," he mutters and shakes his head. "It needs to be midnight." The tribute pauses as he runs a hand around the rope looped around his shoulder. "I'll just have to tie her up well."

Addae watches the cursed child step out the door and assess which direction to go in for a moment before turning north and Addae silently cheers at him going the direction opposite of where Addae has been staying. But he stays crouched down, hidden for long minutes, still waiting to hear any noises that the cursed child is returning.

The muscles in his legs start cramping up, yet Addae doesn't dare move yet. Not when his gut is telling him not to be too bold and risk being seen. Not when one wrong move could mean his death. And he can't take that chance. Panem needs him. His family needs him.

Addae stays in that spot, unmoving, until his legs simply can't stay there any longer and he slowly stands back up, gripping the machine to steady himself as his legs slowly uncramp. Addae rolls his neck, trying to loosen up the muscles there, but he can't quite relax yet. Not until he's back in the sports center.

He turns his focus back to the food, so close to being his yet so far, and considers if he should take the risk of breaking the glass. The noise could alert anyone nearby and bring them right to him. But…he came all this way and already took the risk. And as his stomach rumbles loudly, he knows he doesn't want to just walk away from this food right in front of him.

Addae takes a step back and sets down his bag so he can shrug off his jacket. He wraps it around his fist, hoping this will work well enough to keep the glass from cutting open his hand. He stares for a moment, still afraid to make too much noise, before finally punching the glass with as much force as he can.

Surprise fills him right away when the glass easily shatters around his hand and he stills for a moment, waiting to hear any sound of a tribute approaching. But it's silent, for now, and he quickly starts using his hand to knock away the glass and widen the hole. Once he can safely reach in without hurting himself, Addae grabs as much as he can and shoves it into his bag. Once his bag is full, he quickly runs out of the room and out of the building, swiveling his head around to search for anyone before he starts sprinting back to the sports center.

He doesn't stop running until he is back in the building and up the first flight of stairs. As he slows down, he lets himself start to smile. He did it. He went out and actually found some food. But as he takes out a candy bar and starts eating it, nagging worry creeps into his head that he should have done more. He hasn't played the Games like the Gamemakers are expecting him to do. He had the chance to kill the cursed child, yet he didn't take it.

His gut tells him that the Gamemakers aren't going to let him do that again. He can't keep putting off killing.

* * *

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

"Something is happening, keep an eye on Akakios."

Lisia turns to her friend, giving Fabio a look of disbelief from what he whispered to her at the coffee pot. "Really? You're telling me to keep an eye on him? I haven't slept in days because I'm keeping an eye on him!"

"I know that," Fabio says with a sigh as he takes a long sip of his coffee, staring at Lisia with eyes lined with bags. She knows her eyes are similar looking – everyone in the headquarters looks like this – but she's at least tried to keep maintaining a professional appearance during the Games. Fabio has resorted to wearing the comfiest clothes he can, despite working with the escorts and victors for sponsorships. "But he just put in a request to have each person sent a gift."

"Are you serious?" Lisia stares at him with wide eyes that quickly turn to look over at the Head Gamemaker in disbelief. She has never seen him look this terrible and she knows he hasn't left this room except to use the restroom, and even then, he brings a tablet showing the tributes at all times. He's barely holding control of the arena after the disastrous start, and clearly he's getting desperate to keep his job. "How dumb is he to send gifts when there's only nine left? What will happen if two of them die quickly?"

"Then he loses his job," Fabio tells her, his lips twitching up in just a hint of a smirk as he lifts his coffee mug up in her direction. "And then in the panic for a new Head Gamemaker, you step forward and say 'Oh Mr. President, I can do it!'"

Lisia rolls her eyes at his statement, knowing that will never happen. Not the part about her becoming Head Gamemaker, but that the President of Panem will give the job to her as just an intern. "Someday, Fabio, but first I have to survive this hell."

"Lisia, hurry up with that coffee!"

"Yes sir!" Lisia calls up to him, gently picking up the two coffee mugs so she can return to the hell that is her job.

"Remember, keep a close eye on things," Fabio whispers to her as she walks past.

Lisia keeps her shoulders squared as she approaches the Head Gamemaker, knowing someday that will be her calling the shots. She will absolutely take his job someday. "Finally," he mutters as he takes the mug from her harshly, spilling hot coffee on her hand in his haste to take a sip. "This damn headache won't go away."

Lisia bites her tongue at her burning hand and discretely wipes the coffee off on her pants, before trying to give him a pleasant smile. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Stop talking and let me watch my plan unfold in peace," Akakios scowls at her and she steps back, letting him be his typical asshole self. Somehow, he's become even worse since knowing his job is on the line. "You're supposedly here to learn, so pay close attention. Worst thing you can do is let the audience grow bored from lack of action."

"But there was just a death last night-" Lisia cuts herself off at the glare he casts over his shoulder at her and when he turns back around, she glares at the back of his head.

"These Games have had almost non-stop action," Akakios continues as if she never interrupted him. "We had the largest bloodbath in years. Another death that day. Two deaths on the second day. And now here we are at the end of day three with nine tributes left." Akakios pauses as he stares at the screens of the nine tributes remaining, and Lisia does the same.

The three careers haven't moved from their setup in front of the Cornucopia, with Pyrite struggling to stay awake as their two allies sleep off their injuries. After the fight last night – which Lisia never would have let a career get injured in that seriously – they aren't going anywhere today. Jinx isn't too far from them, hidden in the Justice Building they sit in front of, relaxed with the mutts Akakios has let her befriend so he can keep a close watch on her. Stark is hopelessly lost among the apartments, still angrily stomping around from not finding Garth. Little does Stark know that Garth is safe inside the university campus with Tanelai, but not for long if the two don't make a move for more food and water in the next day or two. Addae hasn't ventured far from the sports center and she's seen the audience reports. They're growing disappointed that the volunteer hasn't done more, especially after he nearly had a run in with Beta. But the audience is starting to grow impatient with Beta too, having been promised revenge by him that they have yet to see.

"Can you tell me what the problem is right now?" Akakios asks her after a few minutes of watching the tributes.

Lisia knows this is a test and she takes her time assessing the tributes and forming her response, thinking through everything that has happened so far in these Games. "The only ones that have killed after the bloodbath are the three allied careers."

Akakios turns back, giving an annoyed look at her before turning back around. "Correct… The audience has been promised fights and they have not yet gotten them yet. We're going to give them what they want." Akakios snaps his fingers down at the Gamemakers working below the platform they stand on and they immediately draw silent and look up at him. "It's time. Send them our gifts and we'll see who is clever enough to figure out what it means. And get ready to fire some cannons."

* * *

 **Ohoho what could Akakios be up to? I had a chaotic idea and had to throw in that little Lisia POV to set things up. Don't worry, we'll find out next chapter what is going on!**

 **So we have a little bit of a calm chapter here, kind of the eye of the storm. But I have _plans_ , so don't worry, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled chaos soon! But first, some angst as tributes struggle in the arena!**

 **RQ #25:** What would you want as a cool hat?

 **See you soon with Night Three!**


	32. Night Three: Set A Course

**Chapter 29:**

 _Night Three_

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District Two_

Stark is slowly starting to realize he means nothing to the Gamemakers. Or, at least, they don't care about him as much as the others. Why else would they let him keep wandering around for days without finding the one tribute he's searching for? What has he even done to show them that he deserves to be here? All he's done is search aimlessly for tributes and when he did find one, got chased away by the Gamemakers. He only got one kill in the bloodbath. How many career victors have only gotten one kill then? Very few, if any. And he's only had one more kill since then. The stupid giggling girl from Ten has double the amount of kills he has.

He's a pathetic career. God, he can just picture the trainees that didn't get to volunteer laughing at him back home and making fun of him right now. He would have been doing the same thing if he was back home. And Kat is probably having the seventeen year olds assess his every mood, dissecting every little detail, to know if he's making the right choices.

Except he doesn't think he'll like the answer they're going to find from analyzing him. Stark has been in their shoes and watched careers in previous years. In recent years, the volunteers have done a lot more than he has done so far.

His parents are right. He is wasting his time in these Games. He's a failure.

 _No._

Stark shakes his head at this and starts scowling at the thought. He may have not found Garth yet, but he is _not_ a failure. And he certainly will not give them the satisfaction of watching him not succeed while sitting with their stuck up, posh friends and saying 'Oh we told him not to volunteer but he wouldn't listen!' For too many years he was their disappointment child. He will not let them say that about him for the one thing he enjoys for himself. And then as he walks into the Victor's Village with Faustus and Avita on his arms to go have some of the best victory sex ever, he'll give the biggest middle finger to his parents for ever doubting him being capable of doing this.

But before that, he has to take down those that have wronged him. He'll kill Jinx – if the Gamemakers actually give him the chance. He'll kill Garth – that he doesn't think they would stop. And he will kill all three of the careers, slow, painful deaths, for kicking him out of the alliance.

Now if only he wasn't hopelessly lost in these buildings.

He's been trying to avoid admitting that fact to himself. If he kept pretending he was going exactly where he meant to, it was easier to accept that he was heading towards his goals. But he doubts he's going to find anyone else among these buildings. If he were to find someone, why wouldn't he have found them already? And he's pretty sure the Gamemakers are intentionally trying to confuse him. The smug bastards are probably laughing in their headquarters as they watch him wandering around. Well they won't be laughing when he wins this.

What Stark needs is some sort of way to tell where he has been before. And then to muster up the energy to keep moving around. He's tired of walking all day with only a little food here and there that he's found in the buildings. He's never gone with this little food in his life and it sucks. He misses having a nice full belly. He misses a lot of the comforts of home – the food, his apartment away from his parents, a nice piece of ass… Soon. Soon he'll have all those things again and more than he's ever had. Stark smirks a little to himself at the thought of all the comforts he'll have as victor. The Capitol will have a new hottest victor for everyone to fawn over. Fonio is going to be old news.

But the thought of the victor from Nine gives a reaction to Stark as if he was dumped in ice, washing away any joy he had from imagining life as a victor and reminding him of how miserable he is in the arena. Because he's reminded of _who_ Fonio is mentoring this year. There's so many reasons stacking up to make these Games miserable and nothing like he imagined. All because One and Four fucked up and couldn't have sent in two trained tributes that respect the career alliance. All because he couldn't get good alliances that didn't blow each other up. And all because he was pushed away by a pathetic outer District tribute.

That's it. No more sitting around. He is _going_ to find one of the other tributes, damn it! And then he's going to become the victor!

First, he needs some way to stop himself from wandering around the same place over and over again because he's almost certain that's what the Gamemakers have had him doing. Stark looks around him in the latest apartment where he's been wandering aimlessly, searching for anything not of value to him that he could use to mark where he's been before. He steps into the office space of the luxury apartment and starts ripping open the desk drawers, searching for some marker or something that he could use to put marks on the buildings. But all of them show up empty aside from some blank paper and a pair of scissors that he tucks away into his pocket. Never know when he might need something sharp like that.

But when he doesn't find any writing tools, he flops down into the glass chair lined with cushions, sliding back a few inches as he stares at the desk in front of him. He sighs loudly and puts his hands on the armrests, lightly tapping it as he thinks. He can't spare any food, not when he has no idea how long these Games will last and if he will have any luck finding more food – these apartments showed him that the Gamemakers are being scarce with the food and he only found some because he searched dozens of rooms. No…he needs something that he doesn't have to worry about missing in a day or two.

Stark slowly looks over at the glass vase sitting on the desk, even filled with glass flowers, and an idea comes to him. Why not use that to make a trail? No one will even suspect that the broken glass is a trail leading to him, not when the entire arena is made of glass and mirrors. Stark picks up the glass vase and dumps the glass flowers onto the floor, watching them shatter right away. Any larger chunks remaining he quickly stomps on, breaking them into smaller shards. Perfect.

He carefully scoops up the pieces back into the vase and stands back up, staring down at it with a sense of satisfaction. No more wandering around aimlessly. He won't let himself get lost in these buildings. No more.

With a new determination in his step, Stark heads out of the apartment and makes his way back down to the ground floor. Finally he's going to be doing something. At the ground level, Stark pushes open the door to outside and as he steps out, he searches around and knows that he has no clue which direction he's facing. If it was daytime, he at least might be able to figure out directions. But at night and when the moon is nearly directly overhead? There's no chance of him getting his bearings.

But at least he won't keep backtracking anymore. Stark stares up at the sky for another moment, trying one last time to see if he can orient himself with the stars, but quickly gives up on that. He'll just figure it out in the morning when the sun rises. Assuming the Gamemakers let them see the sunrise. Maybe they've been tricking them all and having the sun rise in a different direction each day, just to confuse all of them. Maybe that's why he has been so lost in these apartment buildings.

 _But not anymore._ Jokes on them, he's going to figure his way out of here on his own and then kick some ass. Stark chooses to go right but before he does, he gently tips over the vase to let just a couple pieces of glass fall onto the ground, spacing it out as he starts walking down the path. This is brilliant, he'll know exactly where he's been now and won't have to worry about getting turned around inside any of the buildings and backtracking. He just might have to get more glass to trail behind him after a bit.

Soon he reaches an intersection and stands there for a moment, looking around to figure out any sign that he has been through here before. But it's impossible to tell with every building looking identical to each other. Which is why he had to resort to leaving clues behind for himself. Stark glances behind him and when he does, he screams out in frustration. "What the fuck!" He yells at no one as he watches tiny holes in the ground open up under the pieces of glass he's been dropping, sucking the pieces inside before closing up like nothing was ever there. As he stands there, he watches as the farthest pieces are taken away, the holes in the ground moving closer to him until finally the pieces of glass closest to him are removed. Stark drops a piece by his feet and stares at it, waiting to see if the Gamemakers are really going to take away that piece as well. And sure enough, after a minute, a hole swallows up the piece. "This is bullshit!"

Stark angrily sits down on the ground, right in the middle of the street and scowls at the area around him. He hopes the Gamemakers know how pissed off he is by them removing the trail he made. Why don't they want him to know where he's been? Is he just a big joke to them?

"Come on!" Stark yells up at the sky, knowing at least _some_ of the Gamemakers must be paying attention to him. Or maybe Bronn will listen to him now, since he hasn't given much help since the first day. "I'm trying to play your games here! What more do you want from me?! Just let me find some tributes! Or just give me a sign here!"

Stark stares up at the sky, eyebrows raised as he waits in silence, wondering if the Gamemakers are actually going to acknowledge him or just let him keep being a fool. Minutes pass in silence with no sounds or movements, nothing nearby to give him some sign of what to do. "Fine," Stark mutters as he lays back on the ground. "If you're not going to give me a sign, I'm just going to lay right here."

 _Gong!_

* * *

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

Pyrite wakes up with a start, reaching for their sword and looking around frantically at the sound ringing through the arena. Ampora also wakes up suddenly and scrambles to her feet, before they both turn to Muir to figure out what was happening while they slept. She holds up a finger as the gong sound continues, and when it ends, she nervously looks at them. "There were nine gongs…"

"And nine tributes left," Pyrite says slowly as their stomach grows into a twisting knot. This cannot be good…

"Oh shit," Ampora curses as she takes out her katana, slowly turning around as she looks around their camp.

Ampora is right. There's no way whatever is about to happen is going to be good. Not if the Gamemakers have a say in it.

Muir and Pyrite scramble to their feet, weapons also ready to use as they move next to Ampora, keeping their backs together so they can watch every direction. Pyrite glances up at the night sky, finding the moon directly overhead. "Midnight," Pyrite tells them as fear keeps building in their stomach. "The Gamemakers do love to start things at midnight and noon."

"Oh this is not good," Ampora tells them, pain lacing into her voice from her leg injury. "Shit! This is not good!"

"Everyone, stay calm!" Muir yells at them, but Pyrite can tell from her wavering voice that she is not calm at all. None of them are. Not when they are facing down some atrocity planned by the Gamemakers.

As they stare out into the night, heart racing in terror over what the Gamemakers could be sending their way, they at least feel a little comfort that they have their two friends at their back to help fight off whatever is coming their way. They trust them that in this moment, they're going to focus on staying alive together, not the inevitable fact that only one of them can make it out of the arena alive.

But that's a thought Pyrite will gladly push away and avoid thinking about. They don't want to even consider the possibility of Muir's death right now. Hell, they would even be very upset about Ampora's death.

 _Focus, Pyrite._

As they wait in silent night, the only sounds being their heart racing in their chest and the nervous breaths of all three of them, it doesn't take much for them to hear the familiar pings floating down towards them. "Up above!" Pyrite tells them and they relax slightly, but still stay weary about the gifts floating down to all three of them with silver parachutes. The canisters land in front of all three of them and Pyrite nervously nudges theirs with their foot before stepping back, bumping into Muir. Muir reaches behind her, grabbing onto Pyrite's arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"So…" Muir says as they stare down at them. "Do we just open them? This has to be something big."

"Why not?" Ampora answers and before Muir and Pyrite can say anything to stop her, reaches down and pops open the lid. She pulls out a handheld device, a screen on one end of it. She stares at it in confusion as the screen flickers to life. "It's showing a dot and a distance."

"What's the distance?" Pyrite asks as Muir hesitantly picks up her container and slowly opens it, pulling out a similar device that boots up in her hand. With the knowledge that both of their allies received the same thing, Pyrite still hesitates but picks up their canister and slowly opens it up. They pull out their own device, watching the screen light up with a small white dot and a distance of 1 meter. "Mine says 1 meter."

Ampora starts walking around with it, watching the device intensely. "It changes but it looks like around 1000 meters away."

"Mine says 2000 meters away," Muir adds as she starts walking as well, leaving Pyrite staring down at their screen and watching as the distance slowly increases as Muir walks away from them.

"Muir, stop walking," Pyrite calls over to her and their ally freezes up in fear. "You're safe, I just think I know what these are…" Pyrite says softly, really curious if the Gamemakers did just send all nine of the tributes these items. "Walk back towards me."

Muir does as they say and Pyrite watches the distance drop down until Muir is right next to them and it's back to 1 meter. Pyrite shakes their head at the device and lowers it as they look at Muir and Ampora. "They're trackers. Trackers meant to find one person."

Muir raises an eyebrow at this and Ampora starts grinning. "The Gamemakers are going to let me find that bastard from my District." She starts laughing at this, grinning in glee at the thought of finding her District partner, but it just makes Pyrite's stomach churn at the thought of more death. "Thank you!" Ampora shouts up at the sky before turning back towards their supplies and picking up her bag.

"What are you doing?" Muir asks her quickly, watching their ally go into the cornucopia to grab a few more items.

"What's it look like?" Ampora waves at her bag as she stuffs it with food and water. "I'm going to go find Stark and kick his ass."

"But you're still injured," Pyrite tries to tell her, but Ampora just zips up her bag and throws it onto her shoulders. She puts the tracker in one hand and her unsheathed katana in the other before looking at Pyrite. "You're rushing into the fight."

"I'm not," Ampora tells them, shaking her head as she turns to start walking away from them. "I'm doing what has to be done to win these Games." She pauses to look back at them, her lips turning up in a small hint of a smile. "Good luck out there. Hopefully I'll see you again in the finale."

And with that, Ampora turns and starts walking away from their alliance.

"Ampora, wait!"

"No!" Ampora yells back, turning around to face them. She waves her tracker in her hand at them, "Don't you see? This is a test by the Gamemakers! By not following it, we're going against what they want. And I sure as hell am not going to sit by and let them kill us, all because I was nervous about fighting with an injury. Well guess what!" Ampora turns to the sky, yelling for any cameras that are around and watching them. "I'm gonna find that snarky bastard and wipe the smirk right off of his face!"

Pyrite shakes their head as Ampora looks back at them and Muir. Anxiousness about their alliance fracturing has them desperate to get her to stay. What if Muir leaves them too? "Ampora, you can wait until the morning. We can all go together, right Muir?"

"We can," Muir hesitantly agrees with them, but she doesn't seem too sure about it.

"It's better to end things now," Ampora tells them and stares long at them. "Pyrite, just let the alliance peacefully end now. It would have to happen eventually and it's better this way."

Pyrite opens their mouth to say anything to get her to stay, yet doesn't find the words to say. They're too upset at the idea of fighting these Games on their own, forced to face their thoughts and accept all the doubt and guilt that is just waiting to come up to the surface. Instead, they just watch their ally leave, knowing this could very well be the last time they see her alive. As terrible as the thought is…they hope it's the last time. They don't want to face Ampora in a fight or face the guilt if they have to choose their life over hers.

Pyrite watches her disappear from sight, following the tracker deeper into the arena. But they don't turn yet to face Muir, too afraid of what their ally might say. Is she going to say that they should also split up? They could both survive on their own, but Pyrite hates the thought of not fighting to help out Muir if a tribute finds her or worse, not being there for their friend if she were to die. Which is such a twisted and messed up thought for them to be having… They take a deep breath and blink a few times, trying to fight back tears at the thought of losing Muir. It's just _wrong_ to watch their friend die in the arena. And they know now how wrong what they've been taught for years is. No one should want to willingly come into this arena. No one should willingly want to fight and kill for the glory the Capitol will give them.

But people are going to keep volunteering year after year, and Pyrite won't have the courage to say anything to stop them or at least warn them of the pain and guilt they will feel when they watch the life leave someone's eyes and know that they caused it. Because they can't speak out against the Capitol and what they say is right…

"I'm sticking with you," Muir tells them quietly, and Pyrite lets out a breath of relief. They were so afraid of what she might say after Ampora left. But there's still fear making Pyrite's stomach twist and turn from watching Ampora limp away from their camp, too determined to follow the tracker to Stark. "I'll stick with you until the end."

"Thank you," Pyrite answers her softly, not realizing how scared they were that Muir was going to leave them behind. Pyrite turns towards her, trying to smile at her, but struggling with concern over their fracture alliance. Instead, it's easier to focus on the trackers. They nod down at Muir's as it starts to beep softly, picking up a signal. "Who do you think yours is for?" But what they don't ask is who has the tracker that will lead to them… But as long as it isn't Stark, they can fight them off together.

"I don't know," Muir unsurely answers, turning the tracker around in her hands. She holds it up closer to her face as she squints at the bottom of it. "Hang on…there's something written here… 'C09'…" Muir looks up at Pyrite, confusion all over her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Some kind of code," Pyrite says as they turn their tracker around and look for anything written on theirs. Sure enough, there is tiny lettering etched into the metal. "Mine says 'B10' and it's for you…"

Pyrite and Muir stare at each other and the trackers, trying to decipher what the codes mean. Surely they're some sort of hint that the tributes are supposed to figure out about who their tracker is for. "Barak."

"Huh?" Pyrite asks her, a little confused by their ally suddenly saying their last name.

"Barak," Muir repeats, pointing at Pyrite's tracker. "Barak, B. And I got a 10 in training. That's how you know who's tracker you have. Last initial and training score." Muir looks back down at her tracker before slowly continuing. "Ampora's tracker isn't leading her to Stark…" Muir looks back up at Pyrite as they realize it too. "Mine is leading to Stark. 'C09'… Stark Calloway, and a score of 9…"

Pyrite's eyes widen in shock that quickly turns to fear as they turn around, ready to call back to Ampora that she's not heading towards Stark. But their ally is already out of sight. Pyrite nervously turns back to Muir, shaking their head at her. "If she's not going after Stark…who is she being led to?"

* * *

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

Something has changed since they almost were discovered by the careers. He's barely gotten any words out of Tanelai all day, except for things she had to answer. Even then, it was only yes or no answers, or non-committal shrugs. And the awkward silence has only grown worse since they received the gifts from the Gamemakers. And Garth just knows that it's his fault. Somehow, he ruined whatever good thing they had going between them.

"Tanelai," Garth calls out to her, as loud as he dares to in this arena. Yet she keeps walking up the stairs of the building, ignoring him calling out to her. "Tanelai, stop." Garth stops walking halfway up the flight of stairs, watching his ally as she slows down, before finally stopping.

But she keeps staring ahead, refusing to look at him. "We need to keep moving, Garth."

"Please, just tell me what I did wrong," Garth pleads with her, yet she still is refusing to meet his gaze. "I've already messed up one thing that I've regretted ever since and might never get to fix. Don't make me regret this because I know I will feel even guiltier about this if something happens to you."

This finally gets Tanelai to turn around and walk down the stairs so she's parallel to him on the next flight up. She leans against the rail to stare at him, a scared look in her eyes. "That right there is exactly what's wrong."

"I…I'm confused," Garth says as she sighs and steps back, shaking her head at him. "I don't want to spend whatever time is left here not talking to my ally." Garth stares at her for a few long moments before he walks up a few more steps so he can get closer to her. "Please, Tanelai," he pleads with her, already feeling the bubbling guilt inside of him that he has ruined another good thing in his life, and he hates the feeling. But not again is he going to let this happen without trying to fix it. If she pushes him away then…at least he can say he tried to fix things. Unlike with Harlow…

Tanelai sighs once more and sits down on the steps. She stares down at the axe in her hands, slowly twisting it around, as seconds tick by and Garth waits for her to speak. "You caring so much is the problem." Tanelai finally looks up at him and Garth can see the pain in her eyes, even in the darkness. "How am I supposed to keep living after these Games without guilt when every day in this arena I find myself growing more attached to you?"

"Oh," Garth says quietly, feeling his face blushing in embarrassment at her getting attached to him. "I don't- I mean…"

Tanelai's eyes widen at his interpretation and she quickly shakes her head at him. "No, no, not like, romantic, but platonic. Gah, that would be so bad." She grimaces when Garth scrunches his face, a little hurt about her opinion of him. "That's not what I meant. Bad in like, the sense that falling for someone in the arena is bad. Not bad if it was you. Not that I am. And I need to shut up because I'm rambling and going to say something even more stupid."

Garth stares down at his flustered ally before starting to slowly smile at her rambling. "That's the most you've said to me all day."

Tanelai grimaces at this and pats the spot next to her on the stairs. Garth takes the spot next to her and she sighs as she puts her face in her hands. "I thought not talking to you would help me distance myself."

"But why do you have to?" Garth asks her, knowing he's afraid of that happening and feeling like he's alone in this arena. "There's still nine tributes left."

"I…" Tanelai picks up her head and stares at him, her face scrunching in confusion. "Is your bag beeping?"

"Huh?" Garth says as he brings his bag around and places it on his lap. As he unzips it, he's met with a beeping sound coming from the device the Gamemakers sent them. As he stares down at the screen and the little flashing white dot, his hands start to shake.

"What is it?" Tanelai asks as she pulls the device over to look at it, and her face goes pale at the number slowly ticking down and the dot getting closer. "Oh shit…" Tanelai says as she looks up at him. "These are trackers."

If they're trackers and everyone got one…someone is coming towards them and they're only 50 meters away.

"Run!" Tanelai whispers and pulls on him to get him up, but his feet slip under him, his fear making him nearly frozen in place. Tanelai all but pulls him up the stairs with her and Garth keeps anxiously checking the screen on the tracker, watching as the numbers start dropping faster.

"Tanelai," Garth says in a shaky voice when the distance becomes 30 meters.

"Keep moving," Tanelai tells him as she pulls him through the door at the top landing. They step out into a long hallway with close doors on one side and just a railing with barely any posts holding it up to the side overlooking down to the first floor of the building. They keep running along as the number gets lower.

15 meters.

"Fuck," Tanelai curses as she pulls on a door handle and the door stays shut. She tries another one and it's locked as well.

"Tanelai," Garth whispers, afraid to speak or even turn around as he looks at the tracker. "It says 10 meters away."

"That can't be right," Tanelai tells him, voice shaking as she approaches him. She takes the tracker from him as it reads 9 meters…8 meters. She looks up and down the hallway, but there's no one there. "That's inside here."

"That's what I'm reading," Garth whispers back as he sees a shadow pass a few meters down the hallway. Garth holds up a finger to his lips to keep Tanelai quiet before he slowly looks up at the ceiling, terrified of what he might see.

Through the glass roof, Garth can see a figure standing up on the roof, almost directly above them, sword held at their side in one hand and a tracker in another. And they're staring right down at him.

"You're not Stark!" Ampora screams at them before starting to race across the roof towards the way inside.

Tanelai and Garth start running in the opposite direction of Ampora down the hallway. Garth's heart is hammering in his chest as he hears the thumping of Ampora's steps on the glass roof, knowing they don't have much time to get away from her. If they don't…Garth fights down a sob of fear at what might happen if the career catches up to them.

Tanelai slams into the door at the end of the hallway and jiggles the handle before slamming her fist on the door. "No! Please, no!" Tanelai screams at the locked door and Garth feels tears falling down his face. They're trapped. The Gamemakers are forcing them to face Ampora and death. He's never going to see Harlow again…

No. He can't. He has to get home and apologize to Harlow for everything.

Garth looks up at the ceiling for Ampora, finding her climbing down a ladder on the side of the building next to the rooms, not by the stairs at the other end of the hall. "Come on, we can make it!" Garth yells at Tanelai and starts pulling her back down the hallway with him. They can't run side by side and she gets ahead of him, racing towards the stairwell.

There's a crash behind them and Garth stupidly looks back to see Ampora stepping through the shattered door of the room she entered through, using the tracker as a hammer to break the glass. It doesn't take long for her to start running after them at a fast pace, even with a limp.

"Tanelai, duck!" Garth yells as his ally gets close to the door at the end. She listens to him and Garth throws the tracker ahead with as much force as possible and it slams into the glass door, breaking it instantly and giving them a shot at escape. "Ru- no!"

Garth yells as a force tackles his legs from behind, sending him crashing to the floor, just like at the start of the Games. This time, Garth gets his arms out in front of him in time to slow his fall, but he still hits the floor hard. Ampora holds on to his legs tightly and he starts thrashing around, trying to get her to loosen her grip. "Tanelai!" He calls out to his ally as Ampora grabs his bag, pulling him back as he tries to squirm away from her. Garth kicks again and he hears metal go sliding along the floor away from him and Ampora curses. "Tanelai, help me!" Garth yells at his ally, looking up to see her standing in the doorway of the stairs, hesitating as she looks back at him.

"Stop moving!" Ampora yells at him as she elbows his back hard, making him gasp out in pain as he's knocked back to the ground.

"Tanelai, please!" Garth shrieks at her as he feels hands wrapping around his neck. He scratches at them and tries to yank them away, but they keep gripping tighter and tighter around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He wheezes for breath as he keeps kicking and throwing his head back, anything to get Ampora to loosen her grip for just a moment so he can take a much needed breath.

Yet she holds on tight to him, even as she groans in pain from his kicks. Garth starts gasping as his vision begins to darken and he desperately rolls over, anything to get her to let go of him.

Until suddenly he feels her grip let go from his neck at the same time as he feels his feet leaving solid ground. Garth gasps for air as he desperately claws at the floor for anything to hold on to as his lower half hangs off the floor, nothing to stop him from falling four floors down. But it's not just his weight trying to pull him down.

"No!" A voice snarls behind him and he can feel Ampora trying to claw her way up his back.

Garth holds his hands flat on the floor, straining to keep himself hanging, but slowly he can feel his hands starting to slide back on the glass floor. He digs his fingers in but there's nothing to grip. He's going to fall to his death and it's all his fault.

Garth starts slipping faster and desperately he reaches out for one of the posts on the railing, just barely catching it in time before he would have fallen. He swings with Ampora's weight as his fingers struggle to hold on to the glass bar, but sweat makes his fingers slowly want to slide apart.

Garth tries to swing his other hand behind him to push Ampora off, but she just grips onto that arm, making it even harder for him to keep them from falling.

But Garth hears footsteps running towards them as he starts doubting he can hold on much longer. Garth looks up with hopeful eyes, finding Tanelai drop to her knees in front of them, axe raised high above her and a look in her eyes that brings even more fear to Garth. She has a look of being ready to kill and in that moment, there's a flicker of doubt at his ally's intentions. "Help," he whispers as Tanelai brings down her axe towards them, and he has a moment of doubt towards his ally from how long it took her to come help him. Why wouldn't she just get rid of both of them now?

A scream pierces Garth's ear and suddenly a huge weight is removed from him, but it's too late and his fingers slip off the glass rod and he screams out again. But Tanelai grabs onto his hand with both of hers, the momentum of him falling pulling her forward and nearly off the edge as well. "Don't you dare let go," Tanelai spits out through clenched teeth and she lets out a groan as she tries to pull him up, just as they hear a loud smash four floors below them.

 _Boom._

Garth and Tanelai stare at each other with wide eyes for a moment at the sound of the cannon, both of them realizing exactly what that means, before Tanelai leans back, pulling with every bit of strength she has to get Garth back on the floor. Garth swings a leg up and rolls himself as far from the edge as possible, breathing rapidly as the panic of just how close he just came to death hits him. He can hear Tanelai next to him hyperventilating as well. "Oh my God, I just killed someone."

Tanelai turns away from Garth as he starts crying over the fear from how close he came to dying and hurls up the contents of her stomach.

* * *

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

"Alright people, let's actually look alive here!" Akakios barks down at the Gamemakers as the Games Headquarters is in a small panic, all because the Head Gamemaker wanted to rush the fights. "Where's Claudia and Elliot?"

"Claudia is en route and almost here," someone calls up at Akakios and speaks at a quieter volume that Lisia still hears and has to hold in a laugh, "And royally pissed off for getting woken up at 2 AM."

"Elliot is walking in right now," another tells the Head Gamemaker who nods his head approvingly.

"Good, good," Akakios mutters to himself, just a bit of a crazed look in his eyes. The look has only been growing with each passing hour, and Lisia is certain this man is just speeding up his own downfall. There's no way the President is going to be happy with Akakios purposely rushing these Games or letting so many deaths happen at the start. "Elliot!"

The Games Announcer gives the Head Gamemaker a friendly grin as he walks over, seemingly unbothered by the fact that it's 2 AM, doing that bro pat on the shoulder thing that Lisia has never understood. "Hey boss man. What's going on?"

"I'll explain once Claudia is here," Akakios responds and Lisia watches as Elliot's face lights up at the mention of his co-worker's name. But when he catches her watching, he clears his throat as his cheeks start to match the color of his hair.

A flurry of motion and one royally pissed off Games Interviewer enters the room, storming up the steps as a team follows behind her, trying to get her hair and makeup done. Lisia clears her throat to keep in a laugh at the sight of the normally pristine looking interviewer now wearing a fluffy bathrobe and with under eye masks still on her face. "Why the hell am I up at-" Claudia cuts off when she gets to the top of the stairs and sees Elliot there. She puts a scowl on her face as she quickly turns away, subtly pulling off the eye masks before turning back around, standing straighter and pulling her robe tighter. "What is happening? The team mentioned Ampora's death happening, but I've been off for a few hours. Elliot's been in charge."

"And doing a great job, if I might add," Elliot gives a wink at Claudia, only making her grow more flustered. "You can sleep as soundly as you need to with me around."

"Well you're not sleeping now," Akakios tells them and they stop their bantering to face the Head Gamemaker with various looks of anticipation and trepidation. "Ampora's death has brought us to the final eight."

Claudia's face scrunches with confusion as she looks at Akakios, "F-final eight? Already?" She pauses, clearly doing the math in her head before shaking it and turning to her assistant. "I need coffee. Make that five."

"It's time for the final eight interviews," Akakios continues, just a small bead of sweat forming on his forehead at the time crunch in front of them. "Normally we would just send Claudia, but…" he pauses to point over at the map of the arena. They all turn their attention to the red dots on the map representing the eight remaining tributes, and all of them can see the tributes that are on the move, all because Akakios gave them the tools needed to find the others. "We're going to have a conflict soon, I would say sometime this morning. So we need to get these interviews done asap."

"So that's why I'm here," Elliot murmurs and they all turn their attention back towards him. He speaks up as he notices their attention. "I'm going to cover the Games while Claudia goes out, in case the fight happens before she's done."

"Not quite," Akakios tells him, getting equal surprise on Elliot and Claudia's faces. "You're splitting up the interviews. Even with our best hovercrafts, there's no way Claudia alone can interview all eight. Even then, you're only going to interview the absolute most important person to each tribute. We don't have time to spare. Understood?"

Elliot nods his head right away, but Lisia can see that Claudia wants to protest this. But finally, the interviewer nods her head in agreement and Akakios claps his hands to bring up a map of Panem. "Very well. To maximize our time, Elliot will go to Nine, One, Seven, and Four, in that order for Garth, Pyrite, Tanelai, and Muir respectively."

"Because they're in pairs or because of the proximity?" Elliot asks him and he has a good point.

"Both," Akakios answers before pointing to the Districts in the south and east of Panem. "Claudia will go to Three, Eleven, Ten, and Two, in that order, for Beta, Addae, Jinx, and Stark respectively." Akakios turns to Claudia, giving her a long look. "I need to stress how important it is to get these interviews done quickly."

"Understood, sir," Claudia says before turning to her team. "Well you heard the man, let's get moving!"

Her team scrambles to follow her down the stairs, a flurry of colors as they try to keep up with her. Elliot is soon to follow, but not before turning to the Head Gamemaker, being rather serious for once, "I'll get the interviews done before anything happens."

"You better," Akakios calls after him as he runs down the stairs after Claudia.

Elliot passes Claudia and her team, and takes a moment to turn around just to stick his tongue out at her and laugh. "Last one done has to buy dinner for the other!"

"I'm not buying you dinner!" Claudia yells after him, but picks up her pace to not lose to him.

Lisia doesn't know if the two are going to get the interviews done in time, and she almost hopes they don't. If not…it might just be the last thing that takes down Akakios.

* * *

 **Everyone buckle up because we are at the final eight and things are about to get crazy! ("But Lauren, how can this story get even crazier?") Oh it will lol XD**

 **Eulogies:**

 _ **Ampora Erikson, Ranked 9th, Killed by Tanelai [7]:**_

 _I think we all knew that this death was coming soon. I knew it, you knew it. After all, Ampora was the last non-featured tribute left. But she sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight, even with an injury. I always knew her downfall (heh, fall) was going to be her attitude of "act first, think second". There was no way she was going to sit back and wait to figure out if the tracker was for Stark or not. And she made a smart move, following what the Gamemakers had planned. But she got unlucky in running into the only other alliance left and being unlucky to not be a featured tribute lol. I had a ton of fun with Ampora and she was one of my favorites of the non-featured tributes (hence her getting the distinction of making it the farthest lol)! Thanks so much for sending her in, Pi!_

 **Alright. Phew, we have made it to the final eight. I know I said it before but crazy things are going to go down soon. We're getting to the things I've had planned for _months_ now and let me tell you, I am so very hyped for it. I had so much fun with this chapter and I can't wait to keep moving forward! But first, we gotta see if Elliot and Claudia will get those final eight interviews done before the fighting starts!**

 **RQ #26:** Do you think Elliot or Claudia will have to buy the other dinner?

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter! I'll see you all soon!**


	33. Final 8 Interviews: Beyond This Illusion

**Chapter 30:**

Claudia knows better than to question things told to her by the Gamemakers. She has her job and she'll do it without complaint. She wasn't going to get anywhere by complaining against them. But damn did she want to complain about Elliot doing half of the interviews.

But Elliot couldn't be more ecstatic about it. He's still so new to the job and wants to prove himself to everyone. He mostly wants to show Claudia that he's not the bad guy she seems to think. But damn is he going to try his hardest to get her to join him for dinner.

It's around 3 AM as the first of the two hovercrafts land in the first District. Peacekeepers had already been sent out to the families and friends of the tributes, waking them and making sure they are prepared for the interviews as soon as Elliot or Claudia get there.

Elliot is off to a good start, arriving first in District Nine. But he knows Claudia and she will be doing everything she can to not have to buy him dinner. But little does she know that he'll still be the winner regardless. Now getting to District Nine, Elliot knows there's one thing he has to find out about Garth or else the viewers are going to be mad at him: what exactly is going on between Garth and Fonio? He didn't know who he was going to be interviewing until he walked into the small house and was greeted by the ex-friends of Garth.

The crew was ready to go in minutes, and soon enough Elliot was being broadcast to Panem, being expected to handle the interviews. "Hello Panem! We are here in District Nine. I'm Elliot Templesmith, and don't worry, I'm not replacing our lovely host Claudia, just giving her a hand since it's early in the morning and the woman needs her beauty sleep." Elliot laughs at this, but the two in front of him stay silent. "Now we're here with two people to tell us a bit about Garth Rycroft! How about you two introduce yourselves?"

"We're his ex-best friends," the girl speaks up right away, anger towards Garth filling her voice. The boy next to her – clearly her brother, from how similar the two look – sits hunched over, avoiding looking at the camera. "I'm Kimbra Rosen and this is my brother Harlow."

Harlow picks up his head and tries to give Elliot a polite smile, but anyone would be able to see how forced it is. "Well I guess I'm a bit confused," Elliot tells them. "If you're not friends anymore, why give an interview about him?"

"We're here to tell Panem the truth about Garth," Kimbra says, voice full of anger as she glares over at Elliot, way angrier than Elliot would expect someone to be at this early hour of the morning. "He is a lying, deceiving bastard that broke my brother's heart and I'm never going to forgive him for it! Everything you've been hearing about him and that disgusting mentor of his is true."

Elliot raises his eyebrows at this and turns to the camera, knowing Panem will be loving this news. "You hear that, Panem? We have confirmation about the rumors surrounding Garth and his mentor, Fonio Donnan!" Elliot turns back to Kimbra, being met with more rage from her and a pained look from Harlow. "I have to ask…how do you know this?"

Kimbra lets out a single laugh devoid of humor and shakes her head at Elliot. "I saw it with my own two eyes. I should have punched both of them that night for-"

"Kimbra, stop," Harlow says quickly, getting a look of surprise from his sister. He looks down at his hands, ignoring his sister as she shakes in anger next to him. "Don't you see that he regrets it?"

"If he really regretted it, why would he let that disgusting victor tell people about them?" Kimbra shakes her head in disbelief at her brother. "When are you going to see that he's not a good person?"

"He's trying to stay alive!" Harlow yells at his sister, shocking both Elliot and Kimbra into silence. Harlow balls his hands into fists on his lap as he eyes get glossy. "He's doing whatever it takes to make it back home…"

Kimbra stares at her brother for a long few seconds before shaking her head at him and giving him a look of disgust. "I can't believe you'll still defend him after all this time." Kimbra stands up suddenly and starts storming out of the room, calling over her shoulder at Harlow, "How many times do I have to tell you what happened that night?"

Elliot watches Kimbra leave before turning back to Harlow, finding the boy sighing heavily as he leans back on the couch. A tear finally slips down his cheek and he slowly brings his gaze up to Elliot. "I know he regrets what he did…I finally believe him… I just want him to get back home so I can tell him…"

"Tell him what?" Elliot asks him gently, knowing the audience is going to be hanging on to every word that Harlow says now.

"That I…" Harlow sighs as he pauses, trying to figure out the words to say. "Someday…I can forgive him…I hate what he did…but I don't want to lose him. So please, Garth," Harlow shuts his eyes, swallowing hard to hold back a sob. "Please get back home."

Elliot reaches over and gently pats the back of Harlow's hand, giving him a small smile. "I know he's trying. Just look at how well he fought off Ampora! A trained tribute, no less." Harlow's face cringes at the mention of Ampora, but Elliot keeps going. "What do you think about that fight? And how do you feel about his ally?"

Harlow shakes his head at this, fear all over his face. "That fight was the worst thing I ever witnessed. And I…" He lets out a shaky breath, barely holding back his tears. "I'm so glad he has Tanelai to help him out. She…she's a good friend. I don't want to think about what would have happened if she decided to not help him out…"

Elliot glances at his watch, knowing he has to get moving soon. "We have time for one last thing," Elliot says, knowing he has to stay on schedule to win this bet. And, he supposes, to make sure he keeps his job. But mostly to beat Claudia. "If you could say anything to Garth right now, what would you say?"

Harlow takes a sharp breath in at this and looks at Elliot with pleading eyes. "Anything?" He asks softly, his voice showing how much he wishes he could actually speak to Garth right now. Elliot nods his head and Harlow looks down at his hands, thinking over his response. Finally, he picks his head back up and tries to look at the camera, but turns away after a couple seconds. "Garth… Please do everything you can to make it back home. I don't want things ending between us the way they did."

* * *

As Claudia enters the small apothecary shop in District Three, a message comes in on her phone, urging her to stay on schedule and get these interviews done quickly. As if she needed to be told twice how to do her job. Who do they think she is? She's not Elliot. Claudia was watching the live feeds as her hovercraft was speeding towards District Three. She knows there are tributes on the move and only a limited time before they find each other. All because Head Gamemaker Salome is pushing them together. And Beta is one of those tributes. She doesn't doubt that's why she was sent here first, to make sure they got this interview done before anything happens.

Claudia has no idea who to expect for Beta's interview and she's glad she's not alone here. That tribute has done…some really insane things and if his family or friends are anything like that, she wants to get out of here as soon as possible. She's already creeped out by the jars full of… _things_ …that line the shelves of the shop. What disgusting things do they resort to here to 'cure' illnesses? She is so glad she's from the Capitol.

Claudia shakes her head at the shop as a young person comes down the stairs, looking very timid about the presence of the Capitolites. They nervously take off their purple and green hat to push back their shaggy dark hair as they approach. "Sorry…" they say softly as they approach the chairs getting rearranged for the interview, tucking in the dark flannel they wear that looks too big on them. "I'm not very presentable looking right now…"

"Most people aren't at this ungodly hour of the morning," Claudia sighs as she's motioned into place by the crew. She takes her seat and her crew swoops in to adjust her hair and makeup as she stares at the kid in front of her, arms crossed nervously in front of them as they look around at the crew. "Well sit. We have a schedule to stick to."

"Okay!" They squeak out and quickly sit down across from Claudia, starting to nervously wring their hands in their lap as they look around at the crew. "I, uh…I'm glad it's you and not Elliot." They wipe their hands on their pants as they look away from Claudia as she raises an eyebrow at them. "Some men make me nervous…"

Claudia purses her lips at this and looks around at the crew, before motioning the two men away. "Leave." She instructs them, ignoring the surprise on their faces as she turns back to the person in front of them. She recognizes the fear in their eyes, having seen it before in people she knows…and she isn't going to force a victim to be near people that make them relive what happened. "Will you be alright for the interview?"

"Yes," they nod their head before clearing their throat. They wipe their hands on their pants again before looking up at Claudia. "I need to be brave for Beta. He's already done so much for me…so I have to do this for him."

"Indeed," Claudia says, not knowing what that crazed kid could have possibly done for them, but she ignores it to motion for the cameras to start. "Good morning Panem! I'm Claudia Flickerman and we are in District Three right now with…"

"Tracer," they say when Claudia pauses and looks at them expectantly. "Beta's best friend."

"So would you say you know Beta very well?" Claudia asks them and Tracer nods their head as they bite their lip nervously. "What do you think about what he has been doing? These weird…symbols and things he's cutting into his skin."

"He's doing magic!" Tracer's eyes light up at this and Claudia has to fight to keep her face from showing how ridiculous this all sounds. But Tracer notices and sits up, looking Claudia in the eye without nervousness. "It's real! His magic healed me after- after…" Tracer slowly starts shutting down at this, fighting against memories of what happened to them. "He's the kindest person I know…" They continue at a softer tone, eyes growing misty as they think of their friend. "When my family kicked me out for coming out, he was there for me. He's the only one that stood by my side through everything."

Claudia is perplexed by this perspective from Tracer as the Beta they speak of is far different from what they've seen in the arena. "Then what has happened to him? From what we've seen, Beta does not seem like that kind person."

Tracer's eyes drop as they shake their head at Claudia. "I've only seen him this way once before…"

Claudia waits for them to continue and when it seems like they aren't going to continue, gently prods them, "When…?"

"When…" Tracer hesitantly looks between Claudia and the camera, scared to continue. "When he wanted to get back at those that hurt me," Tracer says in a rushed whisper before shaking their head and looking briefly at Claudia. "He didn't stop until he cast the curses. He…he won't stop in the arena. Not until gets back at that girl for wronging him."

"So you're saying we will see a fight between Beta and Jinx?" Claudia asks, wanting Tracer to confirm this for the audience – well, whatever small audience is actually watching this live compared to the majority that will watch reruns later. It's a fight people have been waiting to see for a long time now. "Now us audience members don't know for sure who has whose tracker, but there are definitely some tributes on the move right now."

"Yes," Tracer answers her, shaking their head solemnly at the host. "Beta does not quit once he has a goal set." They take a deep breath as fear for their friend appears on their face. "I believe in him…he can win." Their eyes start watering at this and they shake their head more, "He has to win. I need him."

Claudia gets motioned to wrap this up and quickly smiles at Tracer. "Is there any last thing you would like to say to Beta?"

Tracer nods their head and takes a deep breath before looking at the camera. "Beta…trust in your spells… I know you can do this. Please come home…I can't imagine life without you."

* * *

District One is bustling with activity, even at this hour of the morning, as Elliot approaches the next interviewee. He's only slightly taken by surprise, but he should have known that the career District would be full of excitement over one of their tributes making it to the final eight. Some kids were even waiting to catch a glimpse of Elliot as he enters Pyrite's home to interview their family. While Akakios told them to only interview the most important person, Elliot has been told that the two people related to Pyrite have insisted on being interviewed together, and, well, he couldn't really say no to that. He'll just make sure they stay on schedule.

Elliot and the team are welcomed immediately into Pyrite's family home and when he goes to shake the hand of the woman that greeted him, he's pulled into a hug. "Welcome! We're ecstatic to have you here!"

"Thank you," Elliot answers with a surprised chuckle as the woman lets go of him, giving him a pleasant smile as she leads him towards their living room. "I wasn't expecting to be here."

The woman turns back and immediately gives him a look that could kill, and he clears his throat to correct himself. "I meant in terms of me personally interviewing people. Not that I doubted Pyrite making it far. They're doing very well. It's just, usually Claudia interviews people."

"Oh," the woman laughs at this and her cheeks lightly flush in embarrassment as they sit down and the crew gets to work setting everything up. "Sorry, dear, it's still a little early and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet."

"Not a problem at all…" Elliot hesitates, not knowing what her name is yet.

"Aria Cherno," she leans forward to shake his hand as a man enters the room, meeting her gaze and rolling his eyes at something. "And that is Soleil…is Mica still sulking?"

"You know it," Soleil sighs as he sits down next to Aria. He shakes his head at Elliot, "Teenagers." But he chuckles at this before shaking Elliot's hand. "Glad to have you here."

"Happy to be here," Elliot answers as the crew gives him a thumbs up to start. "Welcome back, everyone! We are now here in District One with Aria and Soleil, Pyrite's parents!"

The two share a look at this before laughing, only making Elliot confused. "Oh no," Aria tells him, shaking her head as she tries to stop laughing. "He's their uncle!"

"Yes," Soleil nods his head, growing more serious. "I stepped in to help Aria raise her kids after my brother had a heart attack ten years ago."

"That is very kind of you," Elliot tells them, feeling a little embarrassed for thinking they were married, but he doesn't let it stop him from continuing with the interview. "Do you get along well with Pyrite?"

"Absolutely," Soleil nods his head and Aria smiles at this. "It's not a father-child relationship since they were old enough to know Olivine…but I think they have really appreciated having me around to act as another parental figure."

"Those two are thick as thieves," Aria adds, smiling appreciatively at Soleil and he takes her hand. "He was the one that introduced them to theater and got them to grow into the confident young person they are today! I certainly couldn't have raised the three kids without him."

"Yes, Pyrite has been quite the performer during their time," Elliot agrees with them, before letting his smile falter dramatically. "But it has seemed like the Games have effected them. What do you think about their behavior in the arena?"

Aria and Soleil share a look at this and Aria finally sighs and answers, "Pyrite is a good kid. They've always strived to do what is right. It's natural to feel something about death happening around them, but I…"

"I think they're going to keep fighting and do what they have to do," Soleil finishes for them and Aria nods her head in agreement. "They have so many hopes and dreams for their future and they won't stop fighting for that. And, well, they have their family here to get back to." Soleil smiles at this, looking proud of Pyrite. "We all love them very much and are rooting for them to win."

"Yes, they're certainly in a good place right now," Elliot comments and the looks of pride on their faces grow. "Three kills. Ample supplies. And a strong ally that has agreed to stick with them until the end. What do you think about their alliance with Muir?"

Once again the two share a look before Aria speaks up, voice not quite as friendly as before. "I'm glad they have someone they can trust to watch they're back…but Pyrite needs to realize it's their life or Muir's… I know they'll make the right choice, and we're all going to be here for them when they sort through the feelings from losing Muir."

"We just want Pyrite back home, safe and sound," Soleil adds. "If having Muir as an ally gets them there, so be it."

"Right, right," Elliot says, nodding his head. "They do seem to work very well together. And their alliance is at the top of the polls in the Capitol for favorite alliance! Well, they're almost tied with Garth and Tanelai, but small details. Anyways, what do you think about the recent loss in their alliance?"

"They'll be fine," Soleil answers Elliot, shaking his head at him. "Ampora could have stayed with them, but she made the wrong choice. You won't see Pyrite making that mistake."

Elliot nods as he's given a signal to start ending this interview. "And we have time for one last thing… What would you say to Pyrite right now?"

"Pyrite, my baby…" Aria starts, growing upset as she pauses to find the words. "Keep your focus on getting back home to your family. We all love you and miss you dearly. Don't let yourself get distracted by your ally and forget everything you have waiting for you. In the end, we're going to still be here, but she won't."

* * *

Claudia can't wait to get out of the sweltering heat in Eleven, but she knows it's only going to get hotter as she heads to District Ten next. How can it be this hot here when the sun is just barely starting to lighten the sky? She doesn't need Akakios' urging, she'll get out of here quickly on her own accord. She can't even remember the last time they were in Eleven for a final eight interview… No one has gotten this close in years. Who knows when the next time she'll be back here?

But she knows that if they do need to interview someone in Eleven, she's sending Elliot out instead. She doesn't care about the embarrassment or blow to her reputation for it. She'd rather face that then sweating up a storm in this heat.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Claudia mutters to the team as they enter Addae's home. Immediately it has a homely and welcoming feeling to it, but not from the people that are there. Cold stares meet her as she enters with the crew, and no one steps forward to greet her. "Well?" Claudia asks as she puts her hands on her hips and stares at them. "Who am I interviewing today?"

The eldest woman – who must be Addae's grandmother – puts a hand on the youngest girl's shoulder and gently pushes her forward. "Ramila, Addae's sister."

"Very well," Claudia says and motions for Ramila to enter the small sitting area that the crew has already taken over to set up as quickly as possible. Claudia takes a sit in a rickety old rocking chair and cringes as she settles down, waiting to find a spot to sit where it won't make noise. Guess she won't be moving at all during this interview.

Ramila sits across from her in a beat up old chair, looking distrustful of Claudia in the rocking chair. "Don't break Grandma's chair."

"Don't worry, I'm not Elliot," Claudia sasses back at her, offended at this girl being so standoffish to her. If she's going to act this way the whole time, it's going to be a very long interview. "I don't want to be sitting here just as much as you don't want me in this chair, so how about we agree to get this interview done as quickly as possible?"

"Deal," Ramila agrees, looking relieved at the idea of making this interview as short as possible. Her distrust of people from the Capitol is clear on her face as she watches the crew give Claudia her cue to start.

"Okay Panem, we're now in District Eleven in the home of Addae Trillions! We are here with his sister, Ramila," Claudia looks over at the girl, finding her sitting straight and face emotionless as she watches Claudia. "So Ramila, do you have a close relationship with Addae?"

"Yes," Ramila says quickly and when it looks like she won't say more, Claudia sighs.

"Can you tell us a bit about that?"

"He's my big brother," Ramila tells her, mulling over what she wants to say. "We're close because there's less of an age difference between us compared to our eldest brother Sid, who is 24."

"Of course," Claudia says, doing her best to stay pleasant in the face of a very cold interview. "It's hard to be close to someone that much older than you when you're a teen. Not impossible, but hard. So, if you're close to Addae, do you know why he volunteered?" Claudia asks her, desperately hoping she'll provide the answer. She feels a little like a failure for being unable to get the answer out of Addae during his interview. But perhaps she can get this younger girl to open up. It's all people have been wondering about Addae, especially after he failed to fight Beta when given the opportunity. What kind of volunteer doesn't want to do what they're expected to in the arena to win?

"He has his reasons," Ramila tells Claudia as she looks around at where her family stands out of sight of the cameras. But she doesn't really tell her much more. "It's not my place to say what those reasons are."

Claudia stares at her, giving her a look that just says 'Really?' but Ramila just sits back and crosses her arms at Claudia. They stare at each other for a few long seconds, neither one wanting to give in on this, before Claudia finally has to accept as the interviewer that she isn't going to get any further response on this and has to move on to keep the interview going. "Fine. What do you think about his apparent rivalry with Beta?"

Ramila shakes her head at the mention of Beta and clutches the wooden necklace she wears in an action similar to what Addae has done several times in the arena. "He is not a good person. Addae is good at telling if people are good or not, so if he is staying away from Beta, there's a very good reason why."

"But do you think he'll be able to keep staying away from Beta?" Claudia asks her, watching as the girl starts frowning at this. "He had a chance to fight him but didn't. The Capitol was quite disappointed by that."

"Well that sounds like a personal problem," Ramila says in return and off to the side, her grandmother chuckles at the comment before getting quieted by the crew. Claudia, meanwhile, is just embarrassed by how terribly this interview is going.

Claudia sighs as the crew signals it's time to wrap up here. She barely got any information out of Ramila. What a waste of her time. At least she can move on to another District now. "Alright, is there anything you would like to say to Addae if you could right now?"

Ramila nods her head at Claudia. "Yes… Addae, you better keep that pinky promise you made to me on Reaping Day."

* * *

The sun is starting to rise when Elliot reaches the third District. The golden sun bathes the forests of Seven in a lovely hue, and Elliot is happy that he is here to witness it. He could stay here all day, and he would, just to lose the bet against Claudia. But Akakios will never let that happen.

Oh well. Maybe he'll get to come back to District Seven sometime soon if Tanelai ends up the victor.

But Elliot wasn't brought to Tanelai's home, and he wasn't too surprised by this. After all, Tanelai hasn't talked too much about her parents compared to her boyfriend. So of course Elliot is sent to interview Daram.

The young man is hesitant about the Capitolite sitting near him in the small kitchen as his mother tries to straighten things out, even offering Elliot some breakfast. "I would love some, but I'm afraid we're on a strict schedule today."

"Mom," Daram says exasperated at his mother, and she gives him a quick kiss on the top of the head that he tries to push away before leaving the room. Daram is blushing in embarrassment at her as he avoids looking at Elliot. "Sorry about her, she can be overbearing some times."

"No worries, she seems great," Elliot genuinely says. "I'm a big momma's boy too," Elliot chuckles and he gets Daram to look up at this, a bit of a smile forming on his face. "Now, shall we get started?"

"I suppose," Daram answers as he sits up, trying to look like he wasn't crying out of fear and concern for Tanelai when Elliot arrived.

Elliot grins at the camera, "Good morning, Panem! We are now in the lovely District Seven with the boyfriend of Tanelai Dorvet! Go ahead and introduce yourself."

The boy sighs at this, but looks over at the camera. "I'm Daram, I'm Tanelai's boyfriend, also affectionately known as the doof."

"Ah yes, the doof," Elliot chuckles at this, having enjoyed that comment from Tanelai. "While I would love to hear all about how you first got called a doof by her, I'm afraid we don't have time for a long story like that. Sooo, Daram… You're dating Tanelai and have been for a while now, correct?" Elliot waits for Daram to nod his head in agreement before continuing, "How do we feel about Tanelai's alliance with Garth?" Elliot raises an eyebrow at Daram, wanting the tea on how he feels about this. "The two seem pretty close. Any jealousy, perhaps?"

"Jealousy?" Daram asks before laughing at Elliot. "You heard Tanelai herself – she has no romantic feelings towards him. There's nothing to be jealous about there. No," Daram shakes his head, growing serious once more. "I can't be jealous about the person helping to keep her safe."

"I think it's the other way around and Tanelai is keeping Garth safe," Elliot jokes, laughing a bit and expecting Daram to join in, but his face creases in worry. "That was quite the intense fight there between Garth and Ampora, with Tanelai saving the day at the end. We haven't heard much for them as they process that, but Daram, you know Tanelai well."

"I do," Daram says slowly, clearly hesitant about what Elliot will ask next.

"What do you think is going through her head right now?"

Daram considers this for a moment before letting out a laugh. "Honestly? Knowing Tanelai, probably embarrassment for vomiting." Daram shakes his head, smiling just a little before it quickly fades away. "But…she's not going to forget this any time soon… I hope this shows her what I told her all along."

"And what is that?" Elliot prompts him.

"That she _can_ do this," Daram answers confidently, firmly believing what he says. "She has what it takes to win these Games, I just know it."

"But what about Garth?" Elliot asks him, making Daram give him a cautious look about where he's going with this. "Garth seems like he's in a good place too right now with Tanelai."

"Garth wouldn't be alive if Tanelai hadn't killed Ampora," Daram answers emotionlessly, clearly trying to control what he shows the Capitol. "We watched that fight…" He pauses as his face gets strained in fear as he relives the memories. "Ampora and Garth would have both fallen."

"Sure, sure," Elliot tells him. "But then we wouldn't have one of our top ranked alliances still together!"

"No," Daram agrees, but doesn't seem too happy about this. "I just worry about her getting attached to him… She was smart to try and distance herself and needs to keep doing that."

"Why are you worried?"

Daram shakes his head at Elliot and sighs loudly. "Because I know Tanelai. If she likes someone, platonic or romantic, she'll do anything for them." Daram frowns as he looks down at his hands in his lap. "I don't want to lose her for someone she barely knows. She's the world to me and I can't even start to think about losing her. It would destroy me."

"Well don't start losing faith in her now!" Elliot tells Daram, giving the guy a small bump on the arm. "She's proven herself as a serious contender, taking out one of the top tributes."

"She's always been a contender," Daram says, his voice just a little sassy. "You just didn't see it because she didn't murder half the tributes in the bloodbath."

"True, true," Elliot says, not letting his smile falter at the sass. "Now Daram, I'm afraid we're running out of time. If you could say anything to Tanelai right now, what would you tell her?"

"Stop getting attached to Garth," Daram says immediately, shutting down his emotions as he thinks about Tanelai's ally. "You're only going to hurt yourself in the end. And… Tanny… I love you, so please get back home. Your doof misses you so much and I can't wait to see you and hug my little victor."

* * *

Claudia thought District Eleven was bad, but at least it didn't smell like animal shit like District Ten does. "God, how does anyone live here?" Claudia asks as she holds a hand up to her nose and uses the other hand to wave her fan at her face. But she quickly stops when that just fans more of the terrible smell at her face. "Please, let's get out of here quickly. And I'm not even saying that about beating Elliot. I'm miserable here."

Someone on the crew holds back a snicker that turns into a cough as Claudia glares back at them, before heading into the house. She lets out a huge sigh of relief that Jinx's father is wealthy enough to afford decent fans to keep the building cooler than the scorching heat outside.

But it's not her father that Claudia is here to interview – apparently he's not even around and is on a business trip. Not that anyone cares about Jinx's father. No, the person they all want to hear from is the person Jinx has shown she's willing to do _anything_ for. The girl sitting on the couch waiting for her.

Sally.

Claudia doesn't get it as she sits down across from the very…average looking girl. What could possibly be so special about this girl that Jinx was willing to go against one of the unspoken rules of not attacking tributes while they're stuck on their pedestals? The way Jinx has talked about her…that doesn't seem to Claudia like a purely platonic relationship. Or if it is, it's not a healthy one. She can only hope this girl will give her the answers the Capitol has been waiting for.

Claudia continues to study her silently as she waits for the crew to give them the signal to start, only making the girl start to squirm nervously under her gaze. How the hell is this girl friends with someone like Jinx? Before Claudia can keep speculating, the crew motions to her and she clears her throat, getting Sally to look up at her. "Right, we don't have much time so let's get moving." Sally nods her head quickly, clearly trying to do whatever Claudia asks of her. "Welcome back, Panem! Now we've heard from people related to the two others that don't like her, but now it's time to hear from Jinx's best friend! You've all been asking for it: 'Who is Sally?' Well we're here to give you that answer. So Sally, what exactly is your relationship with Jinx?"

"Relationship?" Sally asks, a little confused and embarrassed by the choice of word. "We're best friends, that's all. I'm the only friend she has."

Claudia raises an eyebrow at her, questioning if that's really true. It might be for Sally, but Claudia is starting to think it's not true for Jinx. Who would do all of that for one person that they're not in love with? "Really? Nothing more?"

"No…?" Sally asks, her face scrunching even further in confusion. "I don't know what you're implying."

"Sally," Claudia tells her, leaning closer to her, making the girl squirm some more. "Come on. You're telling me you haven't noticed the feelings?"

"What feelings?"

"Jinx has said she would do _anything_ for you," Claudia tells her. "Do you really think Jinx views you as only a friend?"

"I- oh," Sally's eyes widen as it finally clicks for her and her cheeks grow red as she shakes her head at Claudia. "I don't – I mean – I-"

"That's okay," Claudia says, giving her a fake sympathetic look, when really, she's amused at this turn of events. Unrequited love by a crazy thirteen year old? It's great drama. "Not everyone will return feelings, but that doesn't mean you can't keep supporting Jinx in the Games. What do you think about everything she's done?"

Sally's face darkens and she starts shaking her head repeatedly. "It's…wrong… I don't know why Jinx thought she should blow up all those people…" She starts blinking to hold back tears as she thinks back on Jinx's actions. "I don't understand it… I know she's a good girl, she really is! But she needs someone to guide her and sometimes tell her what she should or shouldn't do… I bet it was Stark that told her to do it!"

"Stark seemed pretty surprised by what she did," Claudia points out.

"Then…" Sally thinks for a moment, "Then it was Keelin!"

"Why would Keelin tell Jinx to blow her up?"

"I don't know," Sally whispers defeatedly, knowing her excuses won't work.

"Sally," Claudia says, making the girl stop shaking her head to stare at her. "I think it's clear that this idea was all Jinx's idea."

"No," Sally whispers, resuming shaking her head in disbelief at the interviewer. "I don't believe it. She wouldn't do that."

Claudia shrugs at this, knowing she doesn't have the time to try to convince Sally that it's true. Everyone knows it wouldn't have been Johan telling her to do it, and it certainly wasn't Stark or Keelin, so who does that leave other than Jinx herself? "Well since then, Jinx has been relatively quiet in the arena. After that explosive start, we were expecting more from her. What do you think her next move will be?"

"I don't know," Sally cries out, growing more upset at Jinx by the second. "I don't know who this person is! That is not the Jinx that I know and consider my friend! She would never do these things… I don't know what happened to her in the Capitol but someone corrupted her. I don't know who she is anymore…"

Claudia raises an eyebrow at this, finding this interview the most exciting of the ones so far today as it's gone in a direction she hadn't expected. She actually wouldn't mind staying longer to find out more about Jinx from Sally. But the crew is telling her to wrap things up already. "Alright, Sally, I'm afraid we're running out of time. Now…what would you say to Jinx if you could tell her anything right now?"

"I'd say…" Sally takes a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. "Jinx…this isn't you. I know that you're a good girl, but good girls don't do this… So please, be the girl I know in Ten again. Be the girl I call my best friend…"

* * *

Elliot wants to ask the Gamemakers if he can stay in District Four just a bit longer after he wraps up the interviews today. This District is just absolutely beautiful and Muir's home sits right on the water with a dock hanging out over the water. He wishes they were here in the evening so he could see the sunset on the water, but it's still gorgeous as he sits in the morning sun next to Muir's aunt.

He's glad he at least convinced the crew to let them do the interview outside. With a few well-placed screens to adjust the lighting – and prevent his poor pale skin from getting burnt in the summer sun – they're ready to go. He was warned in advanced that they only had one person available for the interview, but it still made him sad to know that Muir only had her aunt there for her. No parents, just her aunt… But from the light conversation they had while the crew set up, he can tell she loves her as if she was her actual daughter.

"Ready to go?" Elliot asks her and she nods her head, giving him a pleasant smile as the crew gives the signal that they're live. "Alright, Panem, we are at the final interview that I will be giving. We are finishing in beautiful District Four today with Muir Barak's aunt, Nora Barak!" The woman still smiles over at Elliot and as Elliot stares at her, he can see some of the similarities between her and Muir. "Now I have to say, you and Muir look quite similar."

"Yes," Nora agrees, her smile starting to falter a bit. "Her mother…Corinne and I were identical twins."

"I see…" Elliot says as his smile starts to drift away. "Muir did mention in her interview that her mother passed away two years ago. What happened?"

Pain fills Nora's face at the memories, but she still answers Elliot. "Cancer…by time it was discovered, it was too advanced to stop it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elliot tells her and puts a comforting hand on the back of her hand. "Losing a loved one is tough."

"It really is," Nora agrees, blinking a couple time from tears she doesn't let fall. "Muir was so brave through it all and it really made her have to grow up quickly. And I'm so proud of everything she's done, especially now. This is something she worked so hard to achieve and it was always her mother's dream to see Muir achieve something as great as winning the Games."

"What about her father?" Elliot asks, noticing Nora hasn't mentioned anything about him. The woman tenses up at the mention of him and Elliot tries not to let his curiosity show. "Has he helped you out since Corinne's death?"

"No," Nora answers right away, a little too quickly, and shakes her head at Elliot. "He hasn't really been around. That's all I'll say about him. She's had me around the last two years and that has been enough for her. I treat her as if she's my own daughter."

"Okay," Elliot says, letting that go. He's not going to try and force the answer out of her. "So what do you think about Muir's choices in the arena? Were you surprised to see her become the leader of her alliance?"

"I think she's doing great," Nora answers, starting to smile again. "I've always known she could be a great leader and I think she gets that from her fath-" Nora cuts off then and quickly redirects herself before Elliot can question it. "I wasn't surprised that she became the leader of the alliance. I've always seen that skill in her, even if she would say it wasn't there. And I'm glad Pyrite is there. Muir needs someone to count on and they seem to work really well together."

"Indeed," Elliot agrees at this. He stares out at the ocean for a few seconds, getting distracted by the sight. "What do you think the Gamemakers meant by giving Pyrite the tracker for Muir?"

"I…don't know," Nora tells him honestly and he turns back to her to see her shrug. "My theory is that the crowd loves them together too much and if they were to get separated, Pyrite now could find their way back to her."

"They are top of the polls," Elliot tells her, just like he told Pyrite's family that fact. "But Muir has Stark's tracker. Do you think she'll try to find him?"

Nora sighs a little at this and shrugs once more. "She's studied many Games during her training. I'm sure she knows that she can't ignore the Gamemakers trying to lead her somewhere – or to someone. But if she's with Pyrite, I think they can defeat him. After all, he seems like a whiny boy. Just look at him just stomping around the arena!"

"You do have a point," Elliot chuckles at this, knowing she's not wrong. "And what about the other tributes left? Do you think Muir can fight them?"

Nora turns her gaze out to the ocean, thinking over the other tributes. "I think," she says slowly, still looking away from Elliot. "Muir will be fine against anyone other than Pyrite. If they have to fight each other…Muir has already known loss and losing Pyrite will hurt her. But," Nora turns back to Elliot before continuing, "I know she'll do what she has to. She has people back home to get back to and she knows that."

"So does Pyrite," Elliot tells her, having seen that family earlier. And what a contrast it is to see their family compared to Muir's. Nora gives him a look that she doesn't want to talk about that, and luckily for her, Elliot doesn't have time to ask her. "I'm afraid we have to wrap things up, even though I would gladly stay here. But anything you would like to say to Muir?"

"Mu, we're rooting for you here," Nora tells the camera, smiling as she thinks about her niece. "You've done so well and we're all proud of you. And I know your mom is looking down on you and she's as proud as can be of the brave young woman you've become. So keep fighting, honey, and get back home!"

* * *

Claudia lets out a sigh of relief as she steps out into the familiar District and grins as she's greeted with cheers of excitement from some of the citizens. She waves at them as they head towards Stark's apartment, pleased to _finally_ be in a District that is excited to see her. She would have preferred going to One, but she's still very happy to be in District Two now. She feels welcome and an added bonus, she's not sweating her ass off here.

Just one final interview and then she can get back home to her nice air conditioned studio and just continue doing commentary on the remainder of the Games. Not that she knows how much longer that will actually be. Not with the way things are moving very quickly. She might not even get back home before the next fight happens. But she sure will try.

"Alright, who are we interviewing for Stark?" Claudia asks as they enter the apartment, following after two people that look around Stark's age.

"Just me," the boy says as he leads them into the living room. Claudia raises an eyebrow at the things scattered around the room, noting a bong that the boy quickly grabs and hides from her. "Sorry, that one is mine."

"And the other stuff?" Claudia asks, still looking with eyebrows raised, especially when she sees a whip in the corner.

"Shared items," the boy says with a wink when Claudia looks back at him. He passes the bong over to the girl with him who gives him a look like she doesn't know what to do with it. "Avita, just put it in our room or something," he whispers to her before smiling once more at Claudia and motioning to the couch that Claudia isn't sure she wants to sit on from the looks of it. "Welcome to the love shack."

"Stark hates when you call it that!" Avita calls over to him from the next room and the boy laughs loudly at this.

"He's not going to know we called it that," he calls back as he flops down onto the couch. Claudia takes a seat that a crew member dragged over from the dining table, grateful when there are no questionable stains on it. "Oh shit I never introduced myself. I'm Faustus, also known as Stark's boy toy."

"Lovely," Claudia answers, growing more perplexed by this apartment and people that Stark lives with by the second. "Time to get going though." Claudia puts on her smile for the camera as they start recording, pretending nothing is amiss like usual. "Welcome back, Panem, to our final interview! We are ending things here in District Two with Stark Calloway's…friend? His friend Faustus."

Faustus chuckles at being called his friend and Claudia gets the feeling that this interview might need to get censored a bit for being shown in schools later. "More like friends with benefits. I taught Stark everything he knows."

"How…nice of you," Claudia tells him before clearing her throat to get the topic onto the Games. "So you clearly know Stark…well… What do you think about his actions in the Games?"

"Honestly that's typical Stark," Faustus laughs and shakes his head at his friend. "He gets so pissy when things don't go his way. And leave it to him to get hung up on a piece of ass. Spoiler alert, Stark, no dick is worth it! Unless it's my dick!"

Claudia has to clear her throat to get Faustus to stop laughing at his own comment. "What do you think about the career alliance situation this year? And about Stark's former allies?"

Faustus shrugs at this as he responds, "Like I said, Stark gets pissy when things don't go his way. He's a stubborn ass, that one. He probably messed things up with the other careers, knowing him. As for the others, well, there's obvious reasons he would ally with Keelin," Faustus snorts at this, clearly unbothered by Stark's behavior. "And Jinx, I really don't know what he was thinking there."

"Well it seems he clearly regrets that choice," Claudia points out to him and Faustus shrugs. "Considering he spent a good amount of time searching for her before turned away. And now he's been searching for someone else… Do you think he'll find Garth?"

"Depends on who is tracker is for," Faustus responds to her as he puts his feet up on the table in front of him. "Since you won't tell us who he has and he's not the smartest person, we'll have to wait until he finds that person. But we do know that it isn't Garth since Ampora had him. I would guess…Pyrite, if you people want to keep screwing with him in the way that he doesn't like, or Tanelai, if you'll actually let him do what he wants to do."

"I can't give you the answer about that," Claudia tells him, watching him look at her like she's lying. "They haven't even told me that information. I'm not allowed to spoil the trackers." Claudia takes a moment to stare at the camera, hoping the Head Gamemaker can see how annoyed she is about not being allowed that information. Don't they trust her not to spoil things?

"Well that's a shame," Faustus tells her, still not looking like he quite believes her. "But either way, he'll take down whoever he's led to. He might be pissed off and sulking, but he still knows how to fight and will kill whoever he finds. He has to win and make a point against his even pissier parents. That's where he gets it from."

"Does he not get along with them?" Claudia asks.

"Nope," Faustus answers, popping the 'p' as he shakes his head at her. "Why do you think we live here on our own?"

"Well based on the _decorations_ , I would say to party and have some fun," Claudia says monotonously, yet Faustus laughs loudly at this statement, confirming that it is true. But Claudia has to interrupt him, getting the signal from a worried looking crew that they need to go. "Alright Faustus, quickly, anything you want to stay to Stark?"

"Eye on the prize, not that ass!"

* * *

Claudia is rushed into the Games Headquarters as soon as they land, being met by one of the Gamemakers on her way to the studio. "Things are about to go down and you need to hurry."

"Things with who?" Claudia asks as they enter her studio and she's pulled right away to her spot.

The crew starts working on her appearance as Claudia assesses the screens in front of her to see what is about to happen. "Tributes are about to find each other because of the trackers."

Claudia lets out a sigh of relief that this didn't happen before she finished up the interviews. "Did Elliot finish his interviews?"

"He did," the Gamemaker says before pointing over to the side of the room where a very smug Elliot sits and waves over at her.

 _Damn it._

Claudia tries to watch the screens to see just which tributes are approaching each other, but she's all too aware of Elliot smugly walking over to her. "Hello, Claudia, lovely day we're having," Elliot says as he sits on the edge of her desk. Claudia pulls a piece of paper from under his ass, hoping it will give him the hint to move, but it doesn't. "Even lovelier day since I'll be going to dinner with you."

"I'm not taking you out for dinner," Claudia scowls at him, finally meeting his gaze as she crosses her arms. "Besides, I have to actually do my job now, in case you haven't noticed. There isn't time for dinner."

"I know that," Elliot smiles at her and leans closer to her on the desk. Claudia gives him a confused and nervous look before leaning back in her chair to not be as close to him. "And I also knew that you wouldn't hold up your end of the bet if you lost. Which is why even though I won, I will pay for dinner with you."

Claudia considers this for a moment, still staring up at Elliot's smug face. "Anywhere I want?"

"Anywhere."

Claudia starts smirking at this before leaning forward to push him off her desk. "Alright, we're going to Chef Mae's restaurant then." Claudia laughs as his face falls at the realization that she picked one of the most expensive restaurants possible. "Yeah you didn't think that one through, did you?"

Elliot shakes his head as the crew starts to motion him away so they can get started. "It's fine, Claudia, I'll spend whatever on you. Besides, I still think I'm the real winner here. Everyone knows the ten course tasting meal takes hours!"

Claudia stares at him, exasperated that he outsmarted her again. She taps her fingers on her desk as he keeps smirking at her. "This isn't over," she says as she points her finger at him.

"Oh I'm counting on that," Elliot chuckles before getting shushed by the crew as the countdown starts for Claudia being back on air.

Claudia takes a deep breath and shakes her head, trying to focus her thoughts back on the Games and not that insufferable man she has to work with. After all, she has a job to do here and things are about to go down.

* * *

 **Alrighty we are all done with the final eight interviews! I ended up writing this chapter surprisingly fast so yeah, that's why we have this update so soon!**

 **Thoughts on the interviews? Which one was your favorite?**

 **Also I put up a poll on my profile about who you want to be the victor! It probably won't really influence who wins, but I'm curious who you are rooting for at this point.**

 ***SUBMITTER CHECK IN* Just because we're starting to reach the end, I'd like to know when the remaining submitters have read this chapter. So please just send me a message saying if Elliot or Claudia is buying dinner so I know you read the chapter!**

 **RQ #27:** Idk I was just at Cedar Point this past weekend so what's your favorite amusement park ride you've been on?

 **As we saw, things are about to go down. Things are going to be moving very quickly from here on out in these Games so buckle up and hold on tight! Next up will be Day Four after I write Training Day Two of Senseless! Ideally this will be up in the next week or two! See you soon!**


	34. Day Four: Soaring Ever Higher

**A/N: Just a warning that after the first POV, things get intense in terms of fighting and injuries.**

* * *

 **Chapter 31:**

 _Day Four_

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

Tanelai still feels like she might throw up again. She can still smell the iron scent of blood in the air. She can still hear the screams as Ampora fell to her death. She can still hear the crunch of bone as she took her axe out of her broken body. A broken body that she caused.

"I need to get out of this building," Tanelai says suddenly, shaking her head at Garth as he gives her a concerned look. She quickly grabs her things and takes off towards the door, not even looking back to see if Garth is following her. But she knows he will. There's no way either one of them is going to want to be alone right now. "If I don't get fresh air, I'm gonna throw up."

"Alright, lets get outside," Garth says from behind her, but Tanelai is already halfway to the door at this point. She wasn't going to wait for him, not when she feels like the walls are crushing in on her. As she starts down the long hallway to the entranceway, her pace quickens until she's at a run when she throws open the door and steps out into the early morning sun.

Tanelai takes big gulps of air and shuts her eyes, taking in the fresh smell that clears out the memories of the smell of blood that seemed to permeate throughout the building, even after they had finally taken away Ampora's body. She hears Garth step out of the building behind her, but she doesn't open her eyes yet or look over at him, needing a moment alone to process her thoughts. But as soon as she starts thinking about it again, her stomach churns and she opens her eyes, afraid of vomiting once more. With shaky hands, she reaches for the water bottle they had taken from Ampora. She fumbles to remove the lid, spilling a little bit of precious water over her hand as she brings it up to her lips and takes a few small sips, afraid of drinking too much and upsetting her stomach further. If there was one good thing to happen from that experience, it was getting the supplies that Ampora had with her… They were running low on food and had very little water.

But she doesn't want to think about the fact that they stole the supplies from someone's dead body. Maybe she can just pretend they found them in the arena or they were sponsored the items. Except they weren't…no one has sponsored them at all. Clearly they're not that popular in the Capitol. And why would they be before now? They hadn't done anything aside from avoid fighting Pyrite, but that could have just been because they didn't see them. They didn't have any kills…until now. Tanelai closes the water bottle at that thought and shakily puts it back, not wanting to spill it all if she suddenly vomits. She is almost certain she's going to throw up again, even if nothing is in her stomach aside from the few sips of water.

Tanelai takes slow deep breaths, in through her nose and out her mouth, trying to keep herself from losing the contents of her stomach. Slowly, the churning starts to slow, but she still keeps breathing slowly. She can just keep focusing on this and ignore her reality.

At least until Garth gives her a big reality check.

"Tanelai…" Garth starts and sighs at her. Tanelai stops, hesitating to turn back from his tone, but she does, finding him nervously glancing at the ground. "Can we…talk about what just happened?"

"Sure, if you want me to throw up again on live television," Tanelai jokes, not knowing how else to react in this situation. But Garth doesn't laugh, so she nervously chuckles and crosses her arms so she can hold on to herself. "I'm scared that talking about it is going to make it feel more _real_ ," Tanelai whispers to him, shaking her head as her mind replays over and over the images of Ampora falling to the ground, Tanelai's axe buried in her shoulder.

"But it was real…" Garth tells her, sounding like he doesn't want to relive that fight either. But he still does, much to Tanelai's dismay. "Why…why did you save me?"

"Do you wish I hadn't saved you?" Tanelai asks when his tone sounds…unhappy? Confused?

"Of course I'm glad you did," Garth says quickly before sighing and running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry that I am so bad at talking about things that bother me."

Tanelai tries to smile at him, knowing she's also bad at this. "At least you don't cope with making poorly timed jokes."

This gets Garth to form the faintest smile, which just makes Tanelai smile more and temporarily forget about what happened. At least, until he brings it up again. "True…but I think this is something we need to talk about…"

Tanelai sighs at this and stares down at the ground, knowing he's right but hating it. "I know… I don't want to think about how easy it was. In the moment, it was just us or her and I didn't have time to think about what I did. I just _did_ …"

"Us…" Garth repeats and Tanelai nods her head, still avoiding his gaze. Because she hadn't even thought about in the moment that she could have brought the number of tributes remaining down to seven. "Tanelai, I'm not saying I wish you didn't do what you did…but if you wanted to do what was best for you getting out of this arena as the victor, you would have let me fall…"

"Well maybe I didn't want my ally to die, okay?" Tanelai asks him suddenly, meeting his gaze in time to see surprise across his face at her raised tone. And with that, Tanelai is rambling and unable to stop herself. "I don't want to be alone in this terrifying arena. I don't want to see my one and only ally who I have gone and gotten attached to die because it's gonna hurt me like if I saw something happened to Daram. I don't want to think about what I just did back there because I'm scared of how easy it was to kill. To _kill_! That's not right and I feel disgusted in myself for it, but I know if I'm going to get out, I'll have to kill again. And," Tanelai takes a shaky breath, knowing the last thing she's afraid of is the one that scares her the most. "I don't want to die."

Garth stares at her for a few long seconds, just making Tanelai regret having told him all of these things. But instead of saying anything and telling her that she's dumb for thinking those things, Garth steps forward and gives her a big hug. And with that, the tears that she's been holding back are released and Tanelai clutches onto Garth, needing the comfort from him right now. "Oh God, I killed someone," Tanelai gasps out as she tries to take deep breaths around the sobs shaking her chest. Garth lets her sob against his shoulder, trying to comfort her by rubbing her back, but there's really nothing that could calm her right now, nothing except being back home right now. "I want to be home."

Garth keeps silently comforting her for a minute, the only sounds around them her sobs, before he speaks up again. "Think about home instead. You know…they're probably interviewing our families and friends now."

"Oh yeah," Tanelai hiccups from a sob as she shakes her head at the realization that she brought their numbers down to the final eight tributes. "The interviews…"

"I bet they interviewed Daram and he was cheering you on the whole time," Garth tells her, but it only makes her sob even more. "What did I say wrong?"

"Nothing," Tanelai answers, burying her face against his shoulder. "I just miss him so much…"

"Would it be better if I just hugged you instead of saying something that makes her cry more?" Garth asks and Tanelai nods her head. "Okay, that I can do. Harlow always said I give the best-"

Garth cuts himself off and Tanelai leans back to look at his face, finding turmoil on his face as he thinks about Harlow. Tanelai wants to talk about it, but she can tell he doesn't want to. So she does what he asked and just lets him hug her, giving her emotional support that she so desperately needs right now after what she did. And she thinks Garth could use it too. Even if he hasn't brought it up yet…he did almost die and would have if she hadn't saved him. Tanelai can't even imagine how terrifying that thought must be.

A few minutes pass in silence of them both comforting each other and Tanelai's sobs start to subside, being replaced by fear that they are just standing out in the open in the arena. She finally steps back, rubbing tears away from her eyes as she looks around them, almost certain someone will be standing there, waiting for them to notice them. But they're alone in the arena, which both comforts her and makes her anxious. They make up a quarter of the tributes left. And there's still three careers out there, two of which might still be allies. Or maybe they went rogue when Ampora left-

No, Tanelai, do _not_ start thinking about Ampora again. She shakes her head as she turns back to Garth, any comfort he had temporarily provided her slipping away as her stomach churns at the thought of how few tributes are left.

"What do we do next?" Tanelai whispers, afraid of what Garth might say in response. She knows what they should be doing, but if she could put that off forever, she would.

"Well…" Garth hesitates as he looks at her, clearly not liking what he's going to say, and Tanelai just knows what he'll suggest. "You do have your tracker…we could get close to keep an eye on who it is. If it's a career, we'll stay back. If not…"

Garth doesn't finish that sentence, but Tanelai knows what he would have said because it's what she's thinking. _If not, they'll attack them._ Tanelai nods her head at this slowly, knowing it's what they have to do if they want to get out of this arena. Well…if one of them wants to get out of this arena. But she doesn't let that thought linger as she brings her bag around to her front so she can take out her tracker. It's easier to focus on right now than what might happen in the future. But when she brings out her tracker, she watches the flickering white dot marked 950 meters away for a few seconds until it slowly disappears, leaving the screen blank. "What did I do?! It just disappeared!"

"Let me see," Garth says and she offers him the tracker. He turns it around, looking for some way that she might have shut it off, but soon shakes his head. "I don't think you did anything to it."

Tanelai gives him a confused look as he hands the tracker back to her. "If it wasn't me that shut it off…what does that mean?"

* * *

 _Addae Trillions, 17, District Eleven_

Addae takes the time to stare out at the rising sun, still refusing to not watch it at least once while in this arena. It brings a sense of peace to his core, taking part in this daily routine of his. Everything it stands for is something Addae supports: a new beginning. Yes, today is a new day. He now has food and doesn't have to worry about getting his next meal. He'll prove to the Gamemakers today that he is here for a reason, even if that reason is to end the Games.

Addae continues to stare at the sun cresting the horizon and the buildings in the arena, letting himself focus on calming breaths to ground himself for the day. Today will be fine.

But as the sun gets higher, a sinking feeling slowly begins to build in Addae's stomach, a feeling he has learned to associate with negative things happening with the supernatural. Addae tries to take calming breaths to center himself in the hopes that it will make the feeling go away. But it still persists, even worsening, to the point where Addae has to bring his gaze away from the rising sun and focus on what is happening around him. Addae carefully stares around the sports center, not seeing anyone on the level he sits on – the lowest level, after he realized it would take much too long to try and escape from the upper levels if he needed to. But the feeling is still there.

Slowly, a faint beeping noise starts to increase in volume and Addae looks down to find the noise coming from the item sent to him last night. Addae had avoided using it – or even really touching it at all – distrustful of anything the Capitol might send him, but it seems like now he has to use it. He carefully picks up the device, holding it at arms length in case it's meant to harm him. But it just keeps beeping and he squints at the screen, trying to figure out what the dot means. He might not understand the dot, but it doesn't take a genius to understand that the distance counting down is not a good thing.

Addae scrambles to his feet and quickly gathers his things, staying as silent as possible. He hesitates with his knife, but when he glances down at the screen once more and thinks about the number, he keeps the knife tightly in his hand. He spent too long staring at the sunset and now that number is too close. They must be inside the building. A building with only one exit.

Addae curses under his breath and he starts running up the steps to get out of the seat area, but freezes up when the feeling in his stomach intensifies. Slow footsteps echo from the shiny floor of the arena. Addae can feel his heart racing as he hesitates to turn around, fearful of who will be standing down there. He can tell it's at least only one set of footsteps…but that doesn't eliminate very many tributes. The careers could have split up to find tributes. It could be Stark. It could be Jinx. It could be that cursed child. Addae shudders at the thought of facing the cursed child, but as soon as he has that thought, the pain in his stomach becomes almost crippling and he knows that's who is walking towards him. Of course the Gamemakers would do this and it's all Addae's fault. He had the chance yesterday to kill the cursed child, but he didn't.

And now he has no choice in the matter. If he doesn't fight now, he'll die. Is he ready to take a life? Even a life as cursed as the one he's about to face is still a life… But how many lives will continue to end if he doesn't take this life?

Too many.

"I know you're up there, the device is pointing right at you."

Addae slowly turns around, his fears confirmed by that voice. He briefly considers running the rest of the way up the steps and trying to escape this fight, but his gut tells him that he'll get a worse fate if he does that. With this fight, there's a chance of surviving. But with running? The Gamemakers are not kind to those that go against what they want. So he must face him. Standing right in the middle of the arena is the cursed child, crazed look in his eyes as he stares up at Addae, pointing at him with a small blade. "You're not the one I was looking for, but I have time. I'll just find her after I kill you. Surely the spell will work when I have given _two_ lives for one."

"What spell…" Addae asks cautiously as he starts walking down the steps towards Beta, keeping his knife gripped as firmly as he can in his sweaty palm. He doesn't know if he wants to know what cursed thing Beta is trying to accomplish. Probably something that will further the Hunger Games… _He has to stop him._ Finally, Addae knows this is what he must do. As much as taking a life pains him. But this is what he volunteered to do: end the Games. And to do that, he must get out of here alive.

Beta watches him carefully as he walks down the steps, getting closer to the floor. "A spell to bring back my sister," Beta tells him, his eyes lighting up in a terrifying and crazed way that makes Addae grip his knife tighter. He knew from in training that this person was twisted but now…now he has absolute confirmation that Beta cannot be allowed to keep living in Panem if he is supposed to stop the evil supernatural forces. Because one of the people responsible for that evil is standing right in front of him.

"It won't work," Addae tells him as he reaches the floor and pauses for a second to toss his bag down. It will only get in his way during this fight. Beta's face fills with rage at this and he lets out a loud angry breath as he glares over at Addae, the left corner of his mouth twitching in anger. Addae starts walking over to him once more, keeping his steps slow as he would when approaching a dangerous animal back home in Eleven because he has no doubt Beta is acting on pure instincts now and won't think through his reaction. "I won't let you do this to Panem."

"Shut _up_!" Beta screams at him, covering up his ears as he aggressively shakes his head at Addae. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Beta suddenly lunges towards Addae, screaming at him as he swings his blade around wildly. Addae starts stepping back, trying to stay out of reach from him. He holds up his arms to protect his face, but cries out when he starts feeling the blade slashing into his arms. "I _will_ get her back!"

Addae kicks out at Beta's legs to keep him away from him, his height above Beta giving him a slight edge to reach him. Beta cries out as Addae's foot clips his knee, knocking him down and giving Addae a welcome reprieve from the slashing on his arms. He takes a few quick steps back from Beta as he jumps back up to his feet, not even having time to notice the blood dripping down his arms. "Get back here!" Beta screams at him, lunging towards him once more.

But Addae is ready this time to dodge his lunge and he sidesteps Beta before hitting him in the shoulder with the blunt edge of his knife, still not ready to kill, even if he knows he must. Beta doesn't react to the hit, instead bringing up his knee and slamming it into Addae, right in the worst possible spot. Addae groans in pain as he drops to the ground, desperately clutching his junk to try and soften the pain. "Why there?" Addae gasps out, not knowing how anyone who has surely experienced this pain before could do that to someone else.

Beta is too crazed and filled with bloodlust to respond to Addae as he leaps onto him, his blade getting dangerously close to Addae's neck. Addae pushes back on him as he tries to roll away. Beta keeps moving towards him and Addae keeps rolling before pushing himself up so he can't get pinned once more. But in that movement, Addae realizes he's made possibly a fatal mistake. In his pain, he dropped his knife and now there is one angry tribute standing between him and where it sits on the ground.

Addae slowly stands up, looking between Beta and his knife on the ground, trying to figure out how he can get to it. Beta notices him staring and looks down at the ground, laughing when he notices Addae's knife before kicking it far away from them. When Beta turns back around, he gives Addae a terrifying grin. "I told you I'm going to bring her back and I'm starting with your death."

"Never," Addae tells him, preparing himself for when Beta will try to attack him next. He has no choice now, he must get that blade away from Beta and use it himself. There's no chance of him reasoning with Beta, he's beyond the point of a rational conversation. "Bring it," Addae says, trying to pretend he has more confidence in himself in the hopes that he'll actually gain it.

Beta doesn't wait after that, running towards Addae once again and swinging that blade towards him. Addae watches his movements and stays still this time, waiting…waiting for when Beta will be close enough that he can try to grab him. Beta tries to swing towards Addae's face but Addae is ready, catching Beta's hand and stopping it from reaching any vital spots. Beta snarls at him and tries to grab the blade with both hands to force it towards Addae, but Addae grabs onto his other arm and forces it away. The two start wrestling for control, their feet sliding on the smooth floor as they try to get the upperhand. Beta tries to knee him once more, but Addae is ready for it this time and pulls his body back and out of reach.

Beta starts getting desperate with his actions, bringing his head forward to slam against Addae, hitting him in the chin and making them both groan in pain at the action. But it doesn't stop Beta and he leans down, and bites down hard on Addae's hand, making him scream out in pain and let go for a brief moment to rip his hand back, causing it to slice up. Beta tries to use both hands to force the knife towards Addae, but Addae slams his fist into Beta's shoulder before he can do that.

They start grappling at each other's arms once more, both of them in pain and Addae bleeding, but neither willing to give up. Addae can't give up, not when he is fighting for everyone in the country, not just himself. And he can't let Beta succeed.

A sound echoes through the room, bringing both of them to a stop with their arms grabbing at each other. They both turn to look at the girl giggling near them, weapon aimed right at them.

* * *

 _Jinx Holiday, 13, District Ten_

Jinx giggles as she stares at the two fighting tributes, both frozen in surprise by her being there. She hadn't expected to find two tributes here since she was just following the dot on the screen. She was sad when her two foxes had left her behind at the door, but now she understands why. They wanted her to find them all on her own. And finding Addae _and_ Beta? Oh this is great. She finally gets to put her weapon to use!

"Hi there, can I join the fight?" Jinx giggles as she lines up her shot. Beta cringes away at her giggling and Addae is just stunned into place as she pulls the trigger. Jinx is pushed back by the recoil of the weapon as smoke leaves it, along with the missile heading right at Addae. Fear fills his face just before the missile hits him.

But nothing happens.

The missile just bounces off of his chest, hitting the ground softly. Addae looks down at it in confusion as Jinx giggles nervously, frozen in place from shock that her weapon didn't kill him. Why didn't that work? Addae cautiously nudges the missile with his foot and cringes away, expecting it to explode or something, but it just sits there. Both of them do the same, just stand in the same spot, staring at the missile as it does nothing. But they're not the only people there.

Beta is the first one to snap back to focus and he lunges towards Addae, catching him unaware as he drives his blade deep into Addae's neck and rips it out, a spray of blood gushing out of the wound that hits Beta in the face. Addae's eyes widen in shock as he puts his hands up to his neck, desperately trying to stop the wound from bleeding, but blood is flowing through his fingers. Addae drops down to his knees, gasping in pain, before falling over to the ground. A small pool of blood quickly starts to form around his body as his eyes stare up at Beta and he tries to reach out towards the District Three tribute, but his hand quickly drops down to the ground.

 _Boom._

Jinx's eyes widen in surprise as she stares down at Addae's body, simply surprised by how quickly it happened. One minute he was standing there, unaffected by her missile, and the next he's dead. She nervously giggles at the turn of events, making Beta whip his head up to glare over at her. He places his hands over his ears as he gives her a murderous look, and unlike in training, Jinx is now afraid of the looks he's giving her. He just proved that he doesn't have a problem with killing.

"You."

"Me?" Jinx asks with an anxious laugh, making Beta start shaking his head at her. "What about me?"

Beta brings his hands down slowly, still giving her a look that could kill. "I've been searching for you. You killed them!"

"Who?" Jinx asks before awkwardly giggling when she realizes who. Beta's two allies. "I killed a bunch of people then and I was going to kill Addae because this is legal murdering, unlike murder back home in Ten. Not that I've murdered anyone in Ten. Nope, definitely not," Jinx shakes her head as she stares at Beta, a paranoid laugh escaping her. Have they discovered what she did? She was just trying to keep Sally safe and not lose her friend. Which is what she's going to do now.

"I'm going to kill you too," Beta tells her as he starts stepping towards her. Jinx's eyes widen as she frantically tries to load in another missile, hoping this one will be different than the first one. It has to be different, it's the only weapon she has. But her fingers fumble as she keeps looking between her weapon and Beta stalking towards her, vengeful look in his eyes.

She clicks the missile into place and tries to swing up the weapon as Beta reaches her. He kicks her back, sending her sprawling out on the ground and the wind knocked out of her. She tries to reach for her weapon but Beta kicks it far away, crying out in anger as he does so. "I hate you for killing them! They were _good_!"

"I was being a good girl!" Jinx tries to tell him as she crawls backwards on the ground as he steps towards her, but she can tell he doesn't believe that or simply doesn't care. She kicks out at him and hits the inside of his ankle, making him fall down to the ground next to her. She turns around and tries to start scrambling to her feet, anything to get away from him and to her weapon. If she does, maybe she can beat him.

"No!" Jinx screams at him as she feels him reaching out for her legs as she tries to crawl away from him. Beta crawls after her, trying to pin down her legs, but she flails them around, doing everything she can to kick him away from her. She hears a crunch as her boot slams into his face, but this just makes Beta more determined to grab her. He grabs onto her right ankle and she squirms and squirms, but he holds on tightly. She tries to turn around, anything to get him to let go, and swivels her body partly around just in time to see him drive his blade deep into her boot at the back of her ankle.

Jinx screams out at the burning pain in her ankle, feeling tears welling up in her eyes from the pain. Why…why is he hurting her like this. She kicks out again with her other foot and gets him to let go. She tries to scramble to her feet to get away, but immediately collapses from the excrutiating pain shooting up her leg and the inability to actually stand on her foot. She curls up, clutching her leg up to her chest as she whimpers in pain.

Beta stands up slowly, using his sleeve to wipe away blood on his face. He squints down at her, his glasses long gone, and he breaths heavy through his mouth, unable to breathe through his broken nose. "I have been waiting for this since the first day."

Jinx whimpers at this, pure terror overwhelming her as she stares up at Beta, knowing she might die. She doesn't want to die! She's supposed to get home to Sally and they're going to be happy and can live together over in the Victor's Village! "Please don't," Jinx begs him, not knowing what else she can do. She doesn't have any weapons. She can barely walk. There's no chance she's getting out of this. She chokes on a sob as she curls up even further, trying to protect her chest from the mad person standing over her. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"Kill you?" Beta asks before laughing at her, a cold laugh devoid of humor. "Eventually, yes," he tells her as he looks down at the blade held in his blood soaked hands. Jinx sobs out at this and he screams at her, "Shut up!" Jinx clamps her mouth shut, holding back whimpers of pain and fear, and Beta waits a few seconds to know for sure that she is staying quiet. "But before I kill you, I have things I need to do first," Beta trails off as he runs the tip of his finger along the small blade, not even wincing at the pain as he brings the finger up in front of his face and watches the blood flowing from the wound. "You don't deserve to be in this world." Beta suddenly turns his gaze back towards her, eyes full of rage and glossy from tears. "What makes you deserve to live when Copper didn't get the chance?!"

"I don't know!" Jinx screams back at him before crying out in fear as he starts walking towards her. He grabs the rope that has gotten tangled around him and slowly unravels it, all while glaring down at her. "Please don't kill me! I just wanna go back home to Sally."

"You won't be going back home," Beta tells her as he grabs onto her good leg and she starts kicking once more and screaming out. "Stop screaming!" Beta yells at her before driving his blade into her other ankle, only making Jinx cry out even more in pain.

Jinx is sobbing as she tries to use her arms to drag herself away from him, unable to see from the tears pouring out of her eyes. She almost wishes he would just kill her already, anything to get this pain to stop. "Sally…" Jinx sobs out, hoping her friend isn't watching this right now. She doesn't want Sally seeing her dying. "I tried to be-" she cuts off with a groan of pain as Beta grabs onto her, forcing her to sit up as he starts wrapping the rope around her arms and torso. All too soon her arms are bound tightly against her with no room to move them. Rope digs into her skin, making her wince with each harsh tug. She doesn't even have any strength anymore to try to fight him off. Just a terrible, sinking resignation slowly builds up in her with each time Beta wraps the rope around her.

All too soon he's done tying the rope around her and she's starting to feel lightheaded from the pain spreading up her legs. Beta stands up to stare down at her and Jinx just watches him with tear stained eyes. "Now we're ready," Beta tells her, looking down at his rope work with a glint in his eyes that has Jinx's heart racing in fear.

"Ready…" Jinx whimpers as his gaze turns harsh, afraid he's going to hurt her again. "Ready for what?"

Beta slowly starts to grin at her, a terrible grin showing off all his teeth. "Ready to use your body to bring back Copper, of course. Your death will mean new life."

* * *

 **Hehehe we are finally reaching the things I have had planned for _months_! The fight between Beta and Addae has been something that I have been leading up to for a while and I hope it did not disappoint! And of course, we had to have Jinx come in and interrupt things. Akakios didn't think over those trackers too well, did he lol. And I just love some good angst from tributes reflecting on killing. ****In case you're curious, the tracker situation was Beta had Addae, Addae had Jinx, and Jinx had Beta.**

 **Next chapter we're going to pick right back up on this action! Any guesses on what will happen to Beta and Jinx? I have that chapter finished so it will probably be up in the next few days, so prepare yourself!**


	35. Night Four: Flew Too High

**Chapter 32:**

 _Evening Day Four_

 _Beta Fanto, 16, District Three_

It took some time to finally be ready for this spell, but with the sun starting to set, making it the perfect time for connecting with spirits, Beta is finally ready. He has waited so long for this moment to finally be here, yet these last few hours have taken so much patience from him. It's been hard when the answer to the spell has been right in front of him, but he had to wait until at least sundown. He had wanted to cast the spell at sunrise, but missed the chance from fighting Addae. But sunset will work just as well. It will have to work because he simply cannot wait any longer.

Beta stares at the girl in front of him, still tied up so she wouldn't run away, having passed out a little while ago while Beta was preparing. But not that she really could really run away right now, not with the injuries he had given her. Beta clenches his fists as he stares down at the girl that has caused him so much pain, his palms throbbing in pain from the runes he carved into his skin for the spell. She's caused him so much pain, emotional and physical, during the Games. Nothing had prepared him for the pain from losing his allies at her hand or the sight of them exploding into pieces, there one second and then gone in a flash. She had brought him physical pain during their fight, but that was nothing compared to what he felt emotionally at her hands.

Beta glances up at the sky, finding it quickly darkening. Almost time. He turns his gaze back to the girl in front of him, wanting to do so much more to hurt her for all the things she did. She deserves to suffer more than he did at her hands. She hurt the ones he cared about and he will never let someone who hurt his friends get away with it. She deserves so much more than just death at his hands for this spell. And she would get it, if he was not about to bring Copper back into her body. But she will get her suffering soon in the pits of hell for the atrocities she has committed.

The last rays of light are entering the building and anticipation starts to make his stomach tense. He is so very close. "Tracer," Beta says quietly out loud, starting to become worried that his magic won't be enough for this spell. He can't mess this up. He _can't_ let Copper down again. But he knows his friend is back home watching him and waiting to help him out. "I need your help with casting this spell. Please don't worry about me, I will be fine. And there is no room for worry in this spell. Soon we will have Copper back and she will join in our spells." He pauses, smiling a little at the thought of having his sister around once more and joining in with their spells. She never got to meet Tracer, but he knows she is going to love them as much as he does. They are such a kind and vibrant person and will care for Copper. "I can't wait for you to meet her."

Beta waits in silence for the time to arrive to finish this, ready to finish his revenge for his fallen allies and see his sister again. As the anthem starts to play, signifying the end of the day, Beta makes his move. He steps up next to the bound girl who is barely staying conscious and grabs onto the back of her head to open up her neck. Jinx wakes up at this, squirming in his grip and trying to get away from him. Beta grabs her hair harder, lifting her off the ground a few inches and she cries out in pain. "Please don't!" She screams at him as he puts the blade against her neck. He pauses for a second, calming his racing heart. This is it. This is finally the moment when he will get revenge for his allies and bring Copper back.

This victory will taste so sweet.

With one swift motion, he brings his scalpel across her neck, spraying blood out in front of them. Jinx gurgles as her squirming slows immediately and Beta stares up through the glass ceiling, watching the faces shown up in the sky as Ampora's appears, waiting for Jinx's to appear.

 _Boom._

Finally, it is done. _Finally_ , he has gotten revenge for Ryo and Gwenith. He is sorry he couldn't save them, but he hopes they are watching from heaven and know that he has avenged them.

A smile spreads across his face as he watches the faces change to the girl he just killed. A girl whose spirit will no longer have claim to this body. Soon it will be home to Copper's spirit and Beta will do everything to ensure Copper is the one that makes it out of this arena alive. Addae's face soon replaces Jinx's and the smile only continues to grow on his face until laughter bubbles out of him and he can't stop. The laughter echoes across the building as the anthem stops and the images disappear from the sky. He did it. He has brought an end to those that dared anger him. He will not let anyone wrong him or those he loves and get away with it. And killing these two…it brought a deep satisfaction to him that he didn't know was possible. It must be because their deaths are the final piece he's needed to bring back his sister.

Beta slows his laughter and looks down at the body he still holds in his hands. "It's time," he whispers to Copper, knowing her spirit will be watching him and preparing to inhabit this body. He gently lays the body down and unwraps the rope, wanting to be careful now that the giggling girl's spirit is gone. After all, this body now belongs to his sister, a sister he will do anything for. He shuts the blank eyes staring up at him before dragging the body out of the pool of blood spreading across the floor. Once satisfied with the location and appearance of the body, Beta stands over it and takes a deep breath. "It is time. I've failed too many times to bring you back, Copper. But not this time. I'm…" Beta takes a deep breath, fighting back tears as he suddenly feels guilty for how long it took him to succeed. His sister has been gone for years, her spirit alone while he failed over and over again… Beta clenches his fists together, his jagged fingernails digging into his palms and the fresh wounds there. The pain is a vivid reminder of everything he has done up to this point and what he is fighting for. "I hope you will be happy with this life, Copper. I will get you out of this arena, even if it means I have to die for you to live again… I regret that we will have so little time together again…but I can die happy knowing you are alive again and happy."

Beta shuts his eyes, feeling guilty about leaving Tracer behind. His friend does not deserve to have him leave them behind. But they will have Copper. He knows they will care for Copper in his absence.

But now is not the time for him to leave this world. Now is the time for him to bring a life back to this world. He opens his eyes slowly, staring down at the body in front of him. Soon there will be life once more in this body and it will be his doing. Soon, he will see his sister smiling at him once more. His sister who barely had the chance to experience life before being taken away. It wasn't fair. But he will right that. "It's time for you to return to me, Copper."

At his words, there's a crash from the ceiling above and Beta uses his arm to shield his face as he looks up through the falling shards of glass. Flying down are two glass angels, hands covering their faces and looking so peaceful. Their presence puts him at ease, knowing this is a sign of the angels guiding Copper's spirit back to him. They land on the ground next to him and the body, and Beta stares at them for a long minute, letting the peace of them wash over him and calm his center for this spell.

Until one moves the hands from its face, revealing a snarling face and mouth full of sharp teeth, making Beta stumble backwards as it reaches out for him and takes off with him into the sky. "No! Put me down!" Beta squirms in its grip, but it only tightens its hold on him. He kicks around, desperate to be set back down so he can finish his spell. As he's pulled out of through the ceiling, he looks back down at the body on the ground as the second angel picks it up and carries it away from him, taking away his chance of bringing Copper back. "NO GIVE HER BACK!" He screams at it, tears pouring down his face as he watches the body be taken away. He sobs as he's carried away from the place he set up his spell, away from his sister. He can't get taken away from her! "Give me Copper!"

Beta tries to get the angel to put him back down, but no amount of fighting stops it as it flies off into the arena. He watches the other take away Copper's new body, fighting until he sees the hovercraft appear and the angel fly into it, and he knows it's over then. He'll never get the body back now. Immense grief fills him as he sags in the grip of the glass angel, all will to fight drained away from him as he cries, knowing that he has failed. He didn't bring back Copper. And he never will, not when the only vessel left that would have worked is taken away. He will never see his sister again alive.

* * *

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

Seven. Seven tributes remaining already and it is only the end of day four. How did this happen? Just this time yesterday there were nine tributes remaining. And their alliance had one more person. Muir just doesn't understand how things have changed so quickly. It's terrifying to her how soon the end seems to be approaching. She is nowhere close to being ready for that…and she really doesn't know if she'll ever be ready. Because…

Muir glances over at her ally next to her, watching Pyrite work on building up the fire for a minute. They're the reason she isn't ready for how soon the end of these Games seem to be approaching. She promised them that she would stick with them until the end. Except now…now she's questioning why she made that promise. She's had too much time as they sat around today to think about what exactly that will mean if she truly sticks with Pyrite until the end. Sticking until the end together means that she'll have to kill Pyrite if she is going to make it back home to Lukas and Aunt Nora. She doesn't know for sure if she will have it in her to kill Pyrite or not…and either option terrifies her. She's not ready to die…but she's not ready to lose the closest person she's ever had to a friend, especially not at her own hands.

As terrible as it is to think it, she's almost hoping that they will find Stark and he will kill Pyrite. She has no doubt that if the trackers go back on, they'll have to go hunt him down. It's shitty wishing this, but wouldn't it be easier knowing their death wasn't her fault? And that she avenged their death by killing Stark and then winning for both of them? She doubts they would agree with that, of course… But it would be easier for Muir to live with if she wins.

"It's almost time for the anthem." Pyrite says to her, their back still facing her as they get the fire blazing higher. "We'll be able to find out soon what happened to Ampora… I'm worried about her since she-" Pyrite cuts off as they turn back to look at Muir, concern immediately filling their face that Muir wishes wasn't there. Why can't they just stay strictly her ally? "What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinking," Muir says quietly before sighing at the fact that Pyrite was able to pick up on something bothering her so easily. Pyrite turns to fully face her, only making Muir feel guiltier about the thoughts she was just happening. "Pyrite… What are we doing?"

"What are we doing?" Pyrite asks, their face scrunching in confusion at her question. "Well we're making a fire right now for the night while waiting to see who the two deaths were."

"No," Muir says, shaking her head at them and watching the confusion on their face grow. "I mean…what are we doing with this alliance…?"

"Oh." Pyrite starts frowning at this and stares down at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with Muir. They start poking at the ground with their foot, shaking their head just a tiny bit to themself. "I thought you said you want to stick together until the end…"

"I did," Muir says slowly, starting to hear a wavering in Pyrite's voice that she feels guilty for causing. But _why_ does she feel bad about upsetting them? She shouldn't. She shouldn't feel bad at all for them. Ampora didn't. So why does she? Pyrite looks up at her and Muir can see their forehead creasing and eyebrows burrowing in confusion and hurt. "But do you realize what sticking together until the very end means?"

Pyrite lets out a heavy sigh at this, and Muir knows they know what it means. They turn their gaze back to the ground, clearly avoiding meeting her eyes. "I've been avoiding thinking about it because I really don't want to think about it. It hurts to think about…"

Muir starts shaking her head at them, feeling her eyes prickling with tears of frustration. It's not fair that she had to find a friend in the arena of all places. For two years, she hasn't let herself get close to anyone, afraid of losing them like she lost her mother. And now she gets close to someone in the one place she's guaranteed to lose them. "It's not _fair_."

Pyrite picks up their head at this, their expression matching Muir's. "It's what we're supposed to do… We're careers in the Hunger Games. We're supposed to kill other tributes."

Muir shakes her head at them, but doesn't dare speak aloud the thoughts in her head. Those thoughts could get her in serious trouble. Because she doesn't want to do what she's supposed to do. She doesn't want to kill her only friend. "I…"

But before she can say more, the anthem starts to play and the seal of Panem is shown up in the sky, a bitter reminder that the Capitol will gladly kill them if they refuse to play along. Pyrite gives them a look saying they have more to say and Muir nods her head, before they both turn their faces up towards the sky.

Pyrite gasps at the first face shown and Muir finds herself reaching out for their hand, wanting to comfort them has they stare up at their former ally's face. "We couldn't have stopped her," Muir tells her, frowning at their ally's face.

 _Boom._

They both turn towards each other, confusion on their faces. "Was that-" Pyrite asks and Muir nods her head slowly.

Only six left.

They look back up as Ampora's face is replaced by Jinx's, followed shortly after by Addae's. Soon the anthem ends and the sky goes dark, leaving them in a tense silence.

"Stark is still out there…" Muir says quietly and Pyrite nods their head at this, not looking very happy about it.

"And Tanelai, Garth, and Beta," they add before sighing. "And then us."

"And then us," Muir repeats quietly, realizing she's still holding onto Pyrite's hand. Pyrite glances down at their joined hands and slowly lets go of Muir's hand first. "I…don't know what to do."

"Keep doing what we've been doing," Pyrite whispers to her, desperation in their voice. "We keep fighting together. Clearly someone out there can take down a trained career. It's safer together and-"

A screeching noise cuts them off and they both cover their ears as they look around for the source. To the southeast, Muir can make out two of the glass angels on the nearby building taking off, flying west. Muir shakes her head at this as Pyrite quietly says, "I didn't know those were mutts this whole time… That cannot mean good news for someone."

"No…" Muir agrees with them. "We…might be down to five tributes soon…"

They sit together in silence for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to keep talking about what they're doing still being allies. Not now that they know there are mutts standing so close to them. But they both look up when they hear screaming in the distance before turning towards each other. "I guess they found their target," Muir says with a nervous laugh, not sure who it was they were going after.

"Yeah…" Pyrite says before turning back to the fire they started building earlier. But before their turn around, Muir can see the sadness on their face. "Who will take first watch?"

"I can," Muir starts to say before gasping at wind blasting them in the face. She looks up at the sky to see one of the mutts hovering a few feet above them before it drops a tribute to the ground. Muir is frozen in surprise at the mutt bringing the tribute to them and can only stare at them, struggling to identify them with how different they look now.

Beta is in a pile on the ground, slowly pushing himself up from the ground with bloody hands. He looks up at them, a truly crazed look in his eyes that have tears pouring down from them, leaving clean streaks on his face covered dried blood. He gasps for air, sobbing out at them, "They took her away! Why would they take her away?"

Muir briefly glances over at Pyrite, baffled by how much Beta has completely lost it in the arena, and turns back just in time to see him lunging towards her, pulling out a knife from his pocket as he screams. Muir reaches for her spear, fumbling in fear at being caught unaware, but knows it's going to be too late. He's going to hit her first.

She crouches over and brings up her hand, trying to protect the most vital parts of her body before bracing for his attack. But it never comes.

Beta's scream is suddenly cut off, replaced by his coughing, and Muir looks up to see Pyrite standing between her and Beta, their hand holding onto the hilt of a knife buried deep in Beta's stomach. He coughs blood onto their face and Pyrite steps back at this, tripping over Muir in their haste to get away from Beta. But the knife doesn't stop him and he lets out a painful sob as he rips out the knife, his vengeful eyes now targeting Pyrite. "They took her away from me! Now I'll take away their favorite tribu-"

Before Beta can take a step closer to Pyrite on the ground, Muir picks up her spear and jumps towards him, burying the tip deep into his chest. Beta gasps at the wound and stares at Muir with tearstained eyes, the rage disappearing from his eyes as he looks down at the spear in his chest, and Muir can see in his eyes that he knows it's over. Beta drops the blade in his hand to grab onto the spear with both of his hands. "I just…" Beta drops down to his knees, still holding Muir's spear in his chest. "W-want my-" Beta falls over to the ground, staring up at the sky as he takes short breaths, gasping for air. "S-sister…" The last word is let out with a rush of air, and his chest goes still as he stares up at the stars above them.

 _Boom._

Muir slowly sits back down on the ground, feeling her legs getting weak as she stares at Beta's body. She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, feeling shaken up by fighting him. Pyrite moves closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and giving her comfort as the guilt of taking a life finally hits her. "He just wanted his sister…" Muir whispers, feeling guilty that she took away someone's sibling. And if she has to kill Pyrite…she knows they have siblings.

"I know…" Pyrite whispers, rubbing Muir's shoulder as they gently help her stand up. They lead her a distance away from Beta's body, enough to let hovercrafts come in to take him away, and Muir can't help but watch.

This was her fault.

But it wasn't just her… Pyrite protected her. They stepped in when they could have let Beta attack her, all because she stupidly let herself get surprised by him getting dropped in.

Muir doesn't know how she will ever be able to fight against Pyrite…but after this, she knows she will stick with them until the end. Because like they said…it's safer together. It might be safer for their health, but not for protecting her from guilt and heartache.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _ **Addae Trillions, Ranked 8th, Killed by Beta [3]:**_

 _I always knew that Addae was going down in a fight against Beta. It was literally a fight of good v. evil and something I was working towards for a long time. I hope it didn't disappoint! Addae was such a fun tribute to write and I really enjoyed his family's belief in the supernatural and his mission to get rid of this 'curse' on Panem. But ultimately Addae's hesitation to kill was his downfall. He had the chance to take down Beta, but he let himself get distracted. Thank you, Galactic Coach for sending him in! RIP Addae._

 _ **Jinx Holiday, Ranked 7th, Killed by Beta [3]:**_

 _Jinx was one of those tributes that really drives a lot of the plot in the pre-Games and start of the Games, and for good reason. She did whatever she thought would make her a good girl in the eyes of Sally and get her back home. But, alas, she met her downfall in the form of a nerf bazooka. I always planned on it being fake lol, that would be way too OP. But a deal was a deal, and she earned that sponsor gift lol. Jinx was so much fun to write! Thank you for sending her, David, and I hope you have enjoyed her story! RIP Jinx._

 _ **Beta Fanto, Ranked 6th, Killed by Muir [4]:**_

 _Finally he is stopped. Beta had two paths he could have gone in these Games: stayed good and died protecting allies or go off the deep end on his revenge mission. And idk about you, but I have loved writing him go down this path! He's always been a person that has a dark side to him and it depended on the people around him if it was brought out or not. And with the tributes in these Games, it's no surprise he went down a dark path lol. But eventually the Gamemakers decided that 'nah, we're not letting this crazy kid keep going' (the one smart choice Akakios has made lol) and brought him to people that would make sure he didn't live. I've absolutely loved writing Beta and thank you Celtic for sending him to me instead of keeping him for yourself lol XD I hope you enjoyed him and don't feel too bad about his guaranteed death because of Clark. RIP Beta._

 **Yeah we just went there. End of day four and we're now at the final _five._ Really, you better hold on tight because things aren't slowing down. We're at the stuff I've had planned for months and I am too hyped to slow down XD I didn't think Beta's death would make me cry, but it actually did when I got to the final paragraph. First time in this story crying about a death and I'm sure it won't be the last XD Also at this point we're dropping down to two POVs per chapter!**

 **RQ #28:** I forgot to do this last chapter so yeah, I'll just make this one worth ten points lol. How about...out of the five remaining, who do you predict will be the next death? And who do you least want to be the next death?

 **Since we're nearly at the end, I'm gonna close sponsor gifts now (Dreamer, they will get your gift)! I have the Day Five chapter written so that will be up as soon as I get my butt moving on the Senseless interviews, so wish me luck lol.**

 **Also! I have information up on my profile for submissions to the partial that will be coming up after this, Legacy! It will work same way as this story and I hope you'll considering submitting!**


	36. Day Five: Cry No More

**Chapter 33:**

 _Day Five_

 _Tanelai Dorvet, 17, District Seven_

When the trackers come back on in the morning, Tanelai is filled with dread, knowing what it means. They said yesterday that they would use the tracker to find who it belongs to, and depending on who it is, stay away from them. But now…now she feels like they have to stay back from them. Because there's no way in hell she wants to try and fight one of the three remaining tributes. They had gotten lucky before with Ampora. She doesn't know if they'll get that lucky a second time.

But she can't deny the usefulness of using the tracker to keep an eye on the career, whichever one it might be, because of whatever that bullshit phrase is about keeping enemies close. Frankly, she'd love to keep them as far as possible. And yet…deep down, a part of her almost wants to take them on. They've gotten so close to the end of the Games. Only four more people have to die for her to make it out…except she doesn't want it to be the one next to her.

In true Tanelai style, instead of acknowledging this with Garth, she chooses to ignore it and instead focus on who they might find if they go searching. The dot has stayed in basically the same spot since yesterday, making her feel a bit more comfortable about going to look for them.

"Which one do you think it is?" Tanelai asks Garth, staring down at the tracker as Garth finishes gathering their bags. She turns around trying to orient herself so that the dot is facing directly ahead of her…and she doesn't like the directions she's facing. Garth comes and stands next to her, staring at the tracker over her shoulder.

"That's towards the cornucopia…" Garth says quietly, confirming Tanelai's thoughts. She nods her head and even though she doesn't want to go near the careers, at least there are plenty of buildings for them to hide in along the way. "I'd rather face Muir or Pyrite than Stark… I can't stand him… And he doesn't like me…"

"Well fingers crossed it isn't him," Tanelai says before slowly starting to walk back towards the last place she wants to go. Garth follows behind her, keeping a knife in his hand as he keeps a lookout as Tanelai stares at the tracker, occasionally stopping to reassure herself that the distance is shortening because of them, not because the career is moving towards them.

Too soon they reach the edge of the shopping complex and Tanelai comes to a stop, staring ahead at the road that will lead them towards the cornucopia. On their left, a tall building stands there, and she's sure they'll be able to see the cornucopia from inside. But the only problem is, she's pretty sure the only entrance is facing the cornucopia. "How can we get inside there? I don't see a door…"

"Tanelai," Garth says and Tanelai looks over at him, confused by the amused tone in his voice. "You're forgetting that this entire arena is made of glass. We can break one of the windows."

"Oh right…" Tanelai says, feeling dumb that she hadn't thought of that. "But…won't it make too much noise?"

Garth starts frowing at this, knowing she's right. He sighs before stepping towards the closest window. "It's a risk we have to take…people don't win the Games by not taking risks."

"I suppose," Tanelai says as she watches Garth as he peers inside the window before motioning her over.

"Let me use the tracker," Garth says as Tanelai gets closer to him. She hesitantly hands it over to him, knowing it worked well to shatter the doorway before…but not wanting to damage the one good tracker they have left. But still, she trusts Garth… He smiles at her as she hands it over before he uses both hands to slam it into the window, shattering the glass easily. He holds up his finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet as they listen for any sounds to indicate that they need to run. But minutes pass in silence and finally Garth decides to peer inside again. "Looks clear to me," he whispers to her before stepping back and cupping his hands together. "I'll help you up."

"Oh sure, make me go in first," Tanelai teases him, getting a small smile from him. But still, she takes the foot up, grabbing onto the windowsill and pulling herself through, careful to avoid the shards of glass. She looks around her as she hears Garth pulling himself up behind her, thankfully finding no other tributes around. It takes a moment to figure out what the building is that they stand in, but she soon recognizes it from seeing it each year as the Capitol shows Panem the victor of that year being memorialized in the Panem Museum of History.

Tanelai stares in awe at the room they have climbed into and starts walking around slowly, looking at the different pedestals in there. On each one sits a different weapon and on the wall behind it hangs a portrait of each victor. She stops in front of the pedestal with Stefan's portrait and hesitantly reaches out towards the axe on it, wondering if it's the very same weapon her mentor had used… But she almost starts crying as she looks at her mentor, so young when he won. The only victor District Seven has managed to get since the 75th Games… "I'm trying, Stefan," she whispers to his picture, hoping her real mentor will be able to hear her from wherever he's watching. "I won't let you be alone any longer."

As she stares at him, a small pinging noise reaches her, setting them both on edge until they look up and see a little silver canister floating down to her. Tanelai starts getting emotional as she catches it, knowing her mentor heard her. She pops the lid open as Garth looks over at her from two pedestals over, letting her open it on her own. She pulls out the note first, her hand shaking a little as she reads what her mentor said. _"Tanelai and Garth…Be prepared. And sorry, Fonio picked out the hat."_ Tanelai chuckles as she pulls out a viking hat with a big red beard attached to it.

"What is that?" Garth asks her, amusement in his voice as she puts on the hat, finding it sturdier than she expected.

"Not sure," Tanelai says, laughing as she takes off the hat and starts walking over to Garth, wanting to put the silly thing on his head. But as she approaches, she hesitates to put the hat on his head as she realizes what he was staring at. He stares at the blank pedestal with no portrait hanging on the wall. Instead, a large mirror stands several feet wide on the floor, reflecting Garth's appearance back at him. She watches his face silently as he brings up a hand to his face, looking at how worn out he is from their days in the arena. Eventually she moves over to stand next to him, staring at the pedestal and seeing '113th' carved into it. "It's a spot for whoever wins these Games," Garth says quietly, bringing his gaze over towards her. "I guess someday in the actual Panem museum they'll have a portrait of whoever wins and the weapon they really used."

"Yeah…" Tanelai agrees, not knowing if that portrait will be of her. If not…she really hopes that it is Garth. If she can't win, he deserves it the most. He deserves to get home and finally make things right with Harlow so he stops living in this guilt that has been burdening him. She slowly takes his hand as they look at each other in the mirror. "It will be one of us…I know it." She slowly holds up the Viking hat, watching as Garth shakes his head at her. "And we can wear this as our victory crown."

Garth starts to smile at this as their image gets distorted in the mirror, revealing a smirking figure staring at them through what she can only assume is a two-way mirror. "No!" Tanelai screams as she pushes Garth back, dropping the hat to the ground as Stark steps out from behind the mirror, cracking a whip in one hand and holding a knife out in the other. Tanelai doesn't even think about what she's doing as she moves towards Stark, knowing that he won't hesitate to kill them. And she is not going to let him kill her ally.

"Tanelai!" Garth screams at her, but it's too late for him to try to stop her.

She screams as she swings her axe towards Stark, but the career quickly sidesteps her and in one quick movement, drives his knife deep into her side. Tanelai gasps from the sharp burning pain spreading out from her side, dropping her axe as she steps back from Stark. He rips the knife out of her, laughing as Garth screams out her name once more.

Tanelai presses her hand against her side, in shock as she stumbles backwards, bumping into one of the pedestals and knocking it and herself to the ground. Glass shatters all around her and Tanelai lands in it, feeling her arms and back get sliced up by it. She starts gasping in pain and curls up on her side, facing her ally as he stares down at her, tears streaming down his face. He takes shallow breaths as he stares at her bleeding out before anger starts to fill his expression as he turns to face Stark, who is just standing there watching them with a twisted and amused smile on his face. "Garth," Tanelai tries to say, reaching out through the shattered glass on the floor to reach him. But he doesn't hear her as he faces Stark, hand clenched tightly around the knife in his hand. "Garth…no…" Tanelai tries to tell him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"And you thought one of you two would be the victor," Stark taunts them, laughing as he stares between them. Tanelai cries out on the ground, terrified for her friend. He won't win…she knows he won't win on his own and she is going to have to watch him get killed. All because she wasn't strong enough to stop Stark on her own.

Garth takes a shaky breath as he looks down at Tanelai, and she tries pleading with him once more, but no sound comes out of her. No…please don't make her watch him die… She tries to push herself back up to her feet, but her arms slip out from under her, slicing up her hands and making her fall back to the ground.

"You're not going to be the victor," Garth shakes his head at Stark, fighting to hold back sobs as tears fall down his face. "I won't let you."

Stark simply laughs in his face at this, only making the anger on Garth's face grow. Stark holds out his arms to the side, leaving himself fully open for Garth to try and attack him. "Go ahead and try. I'm just waiting here. Go ahead and try to kill me like your pathetic ally did. And then you can turn out just like her."

"She's not pathetic!" Garth yells at Stark as Tanelai starts gasping, her whole body feeling weak. Garth looks over at her with a pain filled look, "Please, Tanelai, just hold on. Don't leave me alone!"

"Don't worry, you'll both be dead together soon," Stark tells him and in a flash, wraps his whip around Garth's throat. Garth drops his knife to clutch onto the whip with both hands, gasping as he desperately tries to get his neck free and allow air in.

"No…" Tanelai whispers as she watches Garth drop down to his knees, still gasping for air as Tanelai's vision starts to get blurry. She feels tears falling down her face as she stares at Garth when he falls over, reaching for her as his air supply is cut away from him.

"I-I'm – so-"

Tanelai never gets to hear what Garth was trying to say as the world completely darkens around her as guilt fills her.

 _I'm sorry I couldn't save you Garth._

* * *

 _Stark Calloway, 18, District Two_

Vengeance tastes sweeter than Stark ever imagined it would.

Stark smirks as he glances back over at the two bodies on the ground, one still breathing. He hadn't expected that girl to really be so dumb as to run straight at him. Who did she think she was? She wasn't going to kill a career. As for Garth…he still hasn't fully figured out what he wants to do with him yet. He needed time to think about it and really, knocking him unconscious for a bit was the perfect opportunity for him to think. And to use his whip to tie him up so when he does wake up, he can't try to escape.

But how to kill him? There are so many options available to him, so many legacies left behind by all of the victors. Should he kill Garth with his mentor's weapon? Now that would be some dramatic irony, considering Garth has been a little whore for Fonio Donnan. Or Stark could use Bronn's weapon, since he has the chance to, but…no, a knife is too simple and boring. He understands why his mentor chose it, given how easy it is to use when you're untrained. But that's not Stark.

Stark keeps walking among the pedestals filled with the weapons of the victors, looking between them and the pictures of the people that wielded them. He stops at each of the District Two victors, proud of each of them. Viola…knife. Roxanne…doesn't matter, he's not using her weapon. Not after she went rogue from the careers. Clemont…great dude, awesome victory, but screw it, he's not honoring Ampora's mentor. Perhaps he'll just go with Kat's weapon, since it's creative that they actually gave the crystal from the cave wall that she slammed her final opponent onto.

But Stark pauses at the pedestal for the Quell victor. No one had expected the scrawny kid from Eight sent into the Quell because his mother chose him over his two siblings to win. But he had proved absolutely ruthless, using a weapon that mostly careers dared to use. Most outer District tributes are too scared to take the risk with poison. And they should be. But not this victor. He had no problem poisoning his opponents. He even used the poison placed on his lips to use against the crazed girl that was obsessed with him and thought they would be together forever. Stark can get behind that sort of drive to win.

Stark slowly starts smirking at the weapon of choice as he hears groaning behind him. He snatches the two vials sitting on the pedestal, one into each hand. He looks down at them, noting which one holds the poison and which one holds the antidote, before turning around to face Garth as he slowly comes to. Garth starts coughing and groaning in pain, slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. When he tries to move his hand to rub his throat but can't, his eyes open wide and he starts squirming, trying to fight against the whip bound tightly around him. He looks around with wild eyes, finding Tanelai's body before Stark, and when he does, his thrashing stops immediately and his body hunches over in defeat. Stark watches as tears slowly fall down Garth's cheeks as he stares over at his former ally. "Tanelai," Garth whispers, his voice harsh from being strangled by Garth's whip. "I'm so sor-" Garth cuts off in a coughing fit as Stark just shakes his head at him. Pitiful.

Stark starts walking over towards Garth, who whips his head up to glare up at him. "So sad," Stark says as he holds a hand dramatically over his chest. "You know, you two really played up actually caring for each other. 'Please, Tanelai, just hold on'," Stark mimics Garth, stopping to laugh at how pathetic they were. He stops in front of Garth and crouches down so he can stare at him at eye level. "Did you two really think you could beat me? A trained career?"

Garth glares at him with more hatred than Stark thought was possible from him. "We killed Ampora."

Stark raises his eyebrows at this in disbelief. These two scrawny tributes beat Ampora? "No shit?" Stark asks before bursting out into laughter. He sits back, leaning over and slapping his leg a little. "Wow, that's hilarious. She gotten taken down by you two? Really? That's hilarious!"

"You're disgusting," Garth tells him, making Stark slow his laughter. A few chuckles still escape him as Garth keeps glaring, which is just contributing to his amusement. Does he think he looks intimidating? He looks as intimidating as a puppy trying to growl at him. "There's nothing hilarious about killing."

"Oh, but there is," Stark says as he leans closer to Garth, who flinches away from him. "How would you like to die?"

"I don't want to," Garth says to him before swinging out with his leg and knocking into Stark's feet, making him wobble before falling over. He gets back up with a scowl on his face, finding Garth looking a little smug at knocking him over, before it quickly is replaced with immense guilt as he looks over at his former ally.

"You know," Stark tells him as he stands up, sneering down at the pathetic tribute in front of him. "I was going to play a little game with you." He opens up both of his hands, showing Garth the two vials in them. "I was going to let you choose which one and see if you chose the poison or the antidote. Well…I probably would have still given you the poison, but at least let you think you had a chance. But now," Stark pockets the antidote before popping open the cork on the poison, watching as Garth's eyes go wide with fear. "Now you're just going to die."

"No!" Garth yells at him as he starts squirming, trying to get away from Stark as he approaches. Stark grabs onto Garth's mouth, forcing it open so he can dump the contents of the vial into it. He quickly shuts Garth's mouth, holding it shut with both hands as Garth starts thrashing in his grip, kicking around and doing anything he possibly can to prevent himself from swallowing the poison, and his knee comes up to slam right into Stark's most precious part.

Stark groans in pain, letting his grip slip enough that Garth is able to spit some of the poison out at him. "You son of a bitch," Stark groans out, wanting to make Garth suffer for that. Stark brings his knee forward, slamming into Garth's crotch and making him cry out in pain. But his eyes go wide and Stark knows he's succeeded. He lets go of Garth and steps back from him, clutching his dick, but still proud of himself as Garth spits onto the ground, coughing repeatedly. "You watched the Fourth Quell," Stark chuckles as Garth turns to glare at him, still trying to spit out whatever poison remains in his mouth, but it's too late. "Hessian Dion picked a rather ruthless poison to use. Paralysis. Slow paralysis that will first limit the movement of your extremities, freezing you in place until it reaches your internal organs. I'm curious if you'll die first from it reaching your diaphragm or heart first. Unless, of course, you have the antidote for it."

"No," Garth whispers, fear making tears start pouring out of his eyes as he shakes his head. He tries to roll over to get near him and the antidote, but Stark steps back and walks away from him, his work done. "Come back!"

"You had your chance with me, Garth," Stark calls back to him, hearing scuffling on the ground as Garth tries to crawl after him with his arms bound. "I gave you that opportunity on the rooftop, and you turned me away!" Stark turns around to Garth, rage filling him once more. "What did you think would happen when you turned down a career? _You die._ "

"I'm not-" Garth cuts off, coughing some more from his raw throat as Stark turns back around, done with that pathetic boy.

"Not dying?" Stark scoffs as he keeps walking back over to the pedestals, stopping in front of the one labeled '113th'. He stares at his reflection, disgusting looking from five days without a shower, but he can understand how Tanelai and Garth hadn't been able to see him through the two-way mirror. "Don't fool yourself, Garth. You're dying – just like your ally before you because I'm not giving you the antidote – and I'm going to become the victor." Stark looks down at the pedestal, wondering what weapon they will place here for him once he wins. Probably his knife, because that's most likely what he'll make the killing blow with. But he would prefer his whip. It's more…memorable. He can argue with them about it later. But for now…

Stark slowly sets his knife down on the pedestal, whispering to himself, "Stark Calloway, victor of the 113th Hunger Games."

 _Click._

Start tries to step back immediately at the sound, knowing right away he messed up, but it's too late. As soon as his knife touches the pedestal, a net appears out of the ground, snatching him up and dangling him from the ceiling. "No!" Stark screams as he spins around in the net and Garth starts laughing but it soon turns into wheezing. "Shut up, you bitch! Get me down!"

"Why would I do that?" Garth wheezes out as Stark's spinning starts to slow, letting him better stare down at the pathetic boy on the ground below him.

As much as he hates stooping to it…Stark isn't beyond pleading. "I'll give you the antidote."

Garth stares up at him, halfway across the room to him, and giving him a distrustful look that he deserves. "Why would I believe that? And even if I let you go…you'll just kill me after."

"You got me there," Stark sighs dramatically at him before starting to squirm around in the net to reach his pocket. He gets out the small vial and holds it up, dangling it in front of him. "But I bet you really want this – what the fuck!" Stark screams as the net starts closing in around him, the wire growing sharp and starting to cut into his skin. He drops the vial, trying to grab onto the net to stop it from cutting him to pieces, and Garth cries out as they both watch it fall towards the ground.

* * *

 **All I gotta say with this chapter is _I'm sorry._ I didn't want to write this but at this point, we're nearing the end and unfortunately that means getting to the point where I love all the tributes remaining T.T (except Stark, he's cancelled lol). We'll have a eulogy for Tanelai next chapter but just know that I sobbed while writing this chapter because I love her so much.**

 **You thought the Day Four cliffhanger was bad? Day Five says 'hold my beer' XD**

 **RQ #29: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being 'I'm not surprised' and 10 being 'WTF LAUREN HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!', how mad are you about this cliffhanger?**

 **Oh before I forget, I have opened up subs for the partial SYOT I will be starting up after this one! It is called (well, it will be once it's posted lol) Legacy: The 137th Hunger Games. Full info is up on my profile and I hope you will submit!**

 **Next chapter will be up next Monday evening. Sorry, you gotta wait a week with that cliffhanger because I'm going to San Diego Comic Con this week and you know I'm not updating while I'm there lol. I'll be updating Wayward before the next Senseless so here's hoping I'm not too dead when I get home Monday night to post that chapter!**


	37. Night Five: Heaven Waits For You

**Chapter 34:**

 _Day/Night Four_

 _Garth Rycroft, 18, District Nine_

Garth cries out as the vial slips from between the net slowly tightening around Stark, making the boy scream in pain as it starts cutting into him. But for Garth, the world slows as he watches that small glass vial fall to the ground, knowing that it's his only chance of living. Garth takes a sharp intake of breath as it hits the floor, before feeling like he can't breathe when it shatters into pieces, spilling the precious antidote all over the floor.

Stark pauses his screaming to laugh, but it morphs into shrieks as the net closes in tighter around him, and blood starts to drip down to the floor as it cuts into his skin.

"No," he whispers, feeling his body start shaking in fear as he stares at the liquid pooling on the floor. A tear slips down his cheek as he stares, not even hearing the screams of Stark. "No!" Garth screams in pain, not ready to accept that this is the end. Garth starts crawling on the floor over to the antidote, desperation filling his eyes with tears as he does his best to move closer to it, his arms restricted. Maybe he can lick the antidote from the ground. Anything will help him.

"I hate you!" Garth screams up at Stark as the boy writhes in pain, unable to even respond to Stark. He tries to push himself closer, but his legs are sluggish and he can barely move them. "No, no, no," Garth says in a panic as blood starts pouring quickly down from where Stark hangs, merging into the pool from the antidote and ruining Garth's small chance of surviving.

Suddenly, Stark's screams stop, and Garth tries to pick his head up to see what happened, but struggles to push his own weight up enough to see. Blood keeps dripping down from the net that has grown much smaller, and Stark is now a bloody mangled mess inside the net from where it cut into his flesh. Garth looks away, disgusted by the bloody sight, even if part of him is happy to see him die. He killed Tanelai…he's killing _him_ … Stark doesn't deserve to live.

 _Boom._

"You deserved it," Garth whispers to him, even if he hates wishing death on anyone. But if there was anyone in this arena that didn't deserve to win…it was Stark… And himself. He couldn't even save Tanelai… Garth sobs as he tries to roll himself onto his back, the movement slow and taking more effort than it should, but he finally does it. He stares up at the ceiling, finding his reflection staring down at him. A hollow look returns his gaze, tears flowing down his cheeks, his nose bruised from the first day. He looks so pitiful. And he is. He couldn't fight Ampora for himself. He couldn't protect Tanelai. He couldn't kill her killer, the Gamemakers did that. And he can't even save himself… "I don't deserve to win."

He's dying and there is nothing he can do to stop it from happening.

So much regret fills Garth as he stares up at his reflection through blurry eyes, tears almost non-stop pouring down the sides of his cheeks. Heavy sobs shake his chest and he cries out in agony. This must be his punishment for everything he has done wrong. All because he was too scared to tell the truth. Too scared to tell everyone the desperate measures he went to so he could keep his family fed. Too scared to admit that he _liked_ it, as much as he didn't want to. Will his family be able to survive now without him? His siblings will have to take tesserae now…he tried so hard to keep them safe from the Games. He had the chance to truly protect his family and keep them safe, but now…now that's all but gone. But most of all, Garth was too scared to admit to Harlow what he did out of fear that he would cast him away, even if his lies ended up doing that anyways.

He was too scared to even try to stop Tanelai from attacking Stark. He turns his head over towards where her body still lays, blood gathered around her, and her face full of pain and sorrow. "I couldn't save you," Garth whispers to her, even though he knows she can't hear him. She's long gone…just like he will be soon. "I'm sorry…you deserved a better ally than me."

Garth turns his head back, unable to stare at the shell of his ally any longer. He tries to hold back a sob at her death, but it slips out as he looks up at his pitiful self. Garth tries moving his legs but they feel like lead, and he's unable to even move them anymore. He tries wiggling his fingers and finally gets them to move a small amount after so much effort. How much longer does he have before the poison reaches his chest and he can't breathe anymore? How much longer does he have alive?

Not enough time.

"Harlow…" Garth takes a deep breath in, his chest feeling heavy – from his sobs or the poison, he can't tell. But it only makes him grow more panicked at the thought of dying without apologizing for everything he did wrong. He doesn't know if Harlow will ever forgive him – and he will never get to know…but at least he can die knowing he apologized. "I…I'm so sorry," Garth chokes out around sobs. "I didn't mean to lie to you…I was afraid of what you would say if I told you the truth about me… And the truth is…" Garth takes a shaky breath, unable to expand his chest as much as he could before. "Kimbra was right… I was a _whore_ ," Garth closes his eyes at that word, the first time he has ever admitted that out loud to anyone and here he is, admitting it to everyone. But he doesn't care, not anymore. He needs Harlow to know the truth. "We needed money and I was desperate… You know how Kimbra would do anything for you…? That was me with my family…"

Garth swallows, trying to hold back his tears, but even that action feels hard to do. "I…thought not telling you would protect you." Garth shakes his head at himself, barely able to move it more than a few inches to either side. "I should have told you the truth," Garth whispers, admitting his biggest mistake. "If I had, I wouldn't have ruined everything between us. I-I st-still lo-"

Garth can't get the words out as he gasps from the sobs wracking his chest. He starts wheezing for air, struggling to raise his chest enough to bring air into his lungs. "I don't-" Garth gasps, feeling like something is sitting on his chest. "W-wanna d-die."

He can feel it getting harder to see, his vision getting blurry and thankfully making it harder to see his pitiful reflection above as his brain struggles to get enough oxygen. He can hear footsteps approaching him and he tries to move to see who it is, but he can barely move his head anymore.

"I think that's Stark," the person says and Garth tries to figure out who it is, his oxygen-deprived brain struggling to identify the voice.

"Or at least was Stark…" A second person says as they step closer to Garth, and he struggles to turn his gaze to look over at them, wheezing for air as his chest barely keeps moving. "Muir…he's still alive…"

A person with white blonde hair hovers over him and Garth tries to open his mouth to stop them, but all he gets out are tiny indiscernible whispers. They block out the sun and with the light shining behind them, Garth almost isn't sure if he's dead already and if this is an angel sent to take him away. He tries blinking a few times to focus his vision, and then he realizes he is not dead yet, but he might be sooner now.

Another person steps up next to them and shakes her head at him, and all Garth can do with two careers standing over him is keep wheezing for air and have tears keep falling down the sides of his face. "What did Stark do to him?"

The other shrugs as they crouch down next to Garth and he starts breathing even faster, trying his hardest to move away from them, but he just _can't_ and it frustrates him beyond belief. Terror floods him as he's left paralyzed and at the mercy of the two careers. "I don't know…whatever it was…it was terrible…"

"Come on, Pyrite, he's gone," the other says and Garth tries to scream and say that he's not, but no words escape. He can't even open his mouth anymore.

But the other career stays put, leaning closer to look at his face directly, and Garth can see tears forming in their eyes. "I'm sorry, Garth," they whisper before a sharp pain hits his chest and he gasps at the pain.

But the pain doesn't last long and his body suddenly grows very weak, the world spinning around him as his vision starts to darken. Garth lets out a long breath…his last breath…and his eyes slowly shut, with one final though filling his last moments.

 _Please forgive me, Harlow._

* * *

 _Pyrite Cherno, 18, District One_

 _Boom._

Pyrite's hands shake at the sound of the cannon, yet they can't turn away from the body of the boy they just killed. It was a mercy kill…he had been on the verge of death already. Pyrite just gave him a faster death… But even that can't stop the pain in their chest at taking away another life.

Pyrite leaves the knife in his chest, unable to take it out and feel the knife getting stuck on bone, before they stand up slowly, their legs feeling wobbly as a pool of blood starts to form around their feet. Their stomach starts to churn as they stare down at the boy in front of them, forcing them to look away at the rest of the carnage in this room. "What happened here?" They whisper to Muir, feeling their stomach twisting even more at all the death. Three bodies. All dead in the matter of a few hours. One of which by their hands…

"Pyrite…" Muir says as Pyrite turns to look over at her at the cautious tone in her voice. They find her standing further back from them, leaning against her spear. She shuts her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. When Muir opens them again, Pyrite can see the pain in her. "It's the final two," Muir says, barely a whisper, as if she doesn't want to say it out loud and admit it.

Pyrite takes a step back from her, hand automatically flexing towards their sword. Muir watches their movement and only tightens her grip on her spear, but doesn't make any move, staying rigid as she stares across at Pyrite. Pyrite relaxes their grip slightly on the pommel of their sword as fear overwhelms them about what Muir just said. They are not at all ready for this. They don't think they would ever be ready for this. Pyrite takes a shaky breath, trying not to let their fear and pain from the loss they will experience show. "So…is this how it ends?"

Muir stares at them, her eyes starting to water, but she shakes her head, trying to fight off her tears. But seeing her this way only makes Pyrite want to cry as well. "I don't want it to end."

"Neither do I," Pyrite responds before realizing how dangerous those words could be in the view of the Capitol if they think they mean they don't want to fight at all, rather than not wanting to fight Muir… "But it has to end… Only one of us can make it out of the arena alive."

"It doesn't have to be yet," Muir says and Pyrite gives her a look of confusion and concern at her words. Muir gestures to Pyrite's bag, "The tracker. They must have suspected it would come down to us in the end…"

"Or they wanted to make sure if we were separated, I could find you…" Pyrite adds slowly, wondering if this could really be true. They had been questioning why the Gamemakers would have given them a tracker to their ally, but could it be this reason? "What are you suggesting…?"

"One final night," Muir says, her face pleading with Pyrite to accept what she has to say. "One final night for both of us to prepare for this fight. You have the tracker… You can find me when you are ready. We both agree to wait until tomorrow when we are rested…" Muir trails off, leaving it unspoken what she really means.

One more night before they must fight each other.

"And then we fight?" Pyrite asks, feeling their eyes prickling with sadness at just the thought of fighting Muir. They don't know how they can possibly do that…but they have to find the will for it.

"And then we fight."

Muir and Pyrite stare at each other for an extended time in silence, and Pyrite takes the time to study their friend's face – and really, there's no point denying it anymore that Muir is their friend. "If there was anyone else in this arena that I would rather be victor if I can't win…it's you," Pyrite tells her, knowing it's absolutely true.

Muir smiles at this, even as a single tear slips down her cheek. "Same…" Muir sniffles and quickly wipes away the tear on her face. She takes a few steps closer to Pyrite, holding out her hand to them. "One last night?"

Pyrite doesn't hesitate to step forward and shake Muir's hand, knowing they will stick to their word. "One last night…"

Muir lets go of Pyrite's hand and stares at them, looking like she wants to say something more. "I…" Muir shakes her head and steps back from them, leaving them confused and hurt about what she might have said. "Better check that your tracker is still working."

"Right," Pyrite says and swings their bag around to their front so they can unzip it and pull out the tracker. And sure enough, the dot is still flashing, just like Muir's was earlier before they found Stark and Garth. "It's working…"

Muir takes a deep breath and when Pyrite looks back up, her face is torn. "Then I'll see you tomorrow." Muir hesitates for a moment, before she turns around and starts walking towards the door before she loses the will to leave.

"Goodbye, friend," Pyrite whispers to her, seeing Muir slow for just a moment, before walking out the door, leaving Pyrite behind.

Pyrite stumbles out the door of the museum after Muir, watching their friend leave them and start heading north. They glance between the tracker in their hand and Muir, verifying that the tracker is indeed tracking Muir. And as their friend walks further away from them, the number does go up in distance…

Pyrite stands there, watching Muir leave until they can no longer see her, and then they lean against the wall and slide down to the ground, setting the tracker down to put both hands on their face. What are they supposed to do? How are they going to fight Muir tomorrow? Just the thought of facing her tomorrow makes them feel like they're going to throw up.

Pyrite uses their hand to rub their cheek, feeling the bracelet on their wrist rub against their face and making them pull back their hand to stare at it. They use their other hand to run a finger over the three small wooden balls on it, reminding them that Muir is not their only friend… They have two friends waiting for them back home, the two wearing matching bracelets with all three of their favorite colors. Joy and Hera have been there for them through so much…figuring out their identity, finding their own in theater, and always rooting for them in training… And they will still be there for them when this is all over, safe back home in One.

In One with their family…a family that they must be making so worried right now. They know their mother and Uncle Soleil must be cheering them on – they always have in whatever hobby they picked up. And their brothers, Mica and Ruri – Mica, probably still being a ball of teenage angst, and Ruri, who they hope isn't still fascinated by the Games anymore after watching their older sibling go through them… Pyrite never wants to see their brother go through the Games. They will do whatever it takes to make sure he never has to experience this pain and the guilt that plagues them from now killing four people… Four families that they have ruined… All because they have done what the Capitol has told them is right. It's not…it's so very wrong… But Pyrite will never be able to say that. Not when it could mean their death, or worse, something happening to their family. But can they let their family get destroyed by not trying, all because they don't want to kill someone they have known for only a couple weeks? But Pyrite knows even though it's been such a short time that they've actually been together, their friendship with Muir means just as much as their friendship with Joy and Hera. Muir has been there through some of Pyrite's toughest moments, and they don't think they would have made it this far without her.

Yet they will have to get through this last part without her.

They hadn't wanted it to come to this. They never expected to grow so close to Muir – it was everything they said they were going to avoid doing at the start. And yet, it happened. Pyrite can't go back and change that to make this final fight any easier. Not that they want to…even with the pain this will cause them – and guilt that they _know_ will haunt them for the rest of their life – they wouldn't change this.

They had meant it when they said they would stick with Muir until the end. They hadn't wanted to think about what that would mean before. But time is up and Pyrite must face the music and accept what is going to happen. Tomorrow when they face Muir, it will be their life or hers, and they know Muir will fight hard to be the victor. They must do the same…they can't let their family down. And if fighting for their family instead of themself is what Pyrite must do to get through this…so be it. Because as they always say in their theater back home…

The show must go on.

* * *

 _Muir Barak, 18, District Four_

Muir's heart aches as she walks away from her friend and she no longer holds back her tears, now that she knows Pyrite can no longer see her. It just simply isn't fair that this is what it's come to. She never should have let herself get close to Pyrite. She never should have let herself get attached to the one person she _can't_ be friends with. God, she can just hear Okeanas screaming at her in the Capitol right now and she almost doesn't want to get out of the arena and face her mentor's screams.

Except…that's not completely true. She absolutely wants to get out of this arena alive. She's worked so damn hard to get to this point. Winning these Games was her mother's dying wish. How can she not fight to win these Games for her? All her mother ever wanted was for Muir to grow up and be a strong woman like the victors in Four, do something greater with her life than working a mundane job. But she doesn't feel very strong. None of the victors in Four became friends with their allies. None of them cried when it got down to the final two because they're afraid to lose the one friend they have. None of them ever put off the final fight when they were _so_ close to ending the Games.

But there is no way Muir could have killed Pyrite then. Hell, she doesn't even know if she'll be able to kill them tomorrow… Assuming the Gamemakers let them wait until tomorrow. She can only hope that she made the right decision and they will let them have this reprieve and rest before one last battle. Surely they'll want to draw out the Games one day more. Build up the suspense…make the crowd wait for their victor…

The victor that she hopes will be her.

Muir wipes away at the tears that won't stop falling down her cheeks as she heads further north, into an area she hasn't explored before. How is she supposed to pick where to wait for Pyrite? Anywhere will work, she supposes, since Pyrite has a tracker to find her.

Muir stumbles in front of a gate and peers inside, finding a hedge maze made of actual plants, the first sign that this area must be something special. She hesitantly reaches out to the gate, scared of what she might find inside, but also knowing that the Gamemakers won't kill her now – she hopes – when it's down to the last two, and she pushes on the gate. It swings open, letting her walk into the maze.

Muir tries to get through it as quickly as possible, finding herself hitting dead ends several times and making panic start to build in her. She clutches the necklace she wears and the ring hidden underneath it, wishing she had the comfort of her parents right now… _Parents_. Not just mother, but both parents. She's so very close to having her father in her life… A father she's never been able to know before, but has always watched over her, risking his life in the process. A father who has always wanted to be part of her life, but couldn't because of the job he took as a Peacekeeper. A job she once aspired to do, but now…now she's not too sure. She's seen an ugly side of the Capitol in this arena, a side that will make sure you don't live if you go against them. Surely that's what happened with Beta. Why else would the Gamemakers place him right in front of them?

What would happen to her and Pyrite if they simply chose not to fight tomorrow?

They would kill their families…Muir can't do that to Aunt Nora…sweet Aunt Nora who has cared for her these last two years when she didn't have to. If she wins, she can finally take care of her aunt instead. And when Lukas is done with his Peacekeeper duty…they can be a _family_.

Family.

She may not have a large family waiting for her. She lost her mother two years ago. She hasn't been able to spend time with her father. She doesn't have any siblings. But she knows she has people that love her rooting for her to make it back home. So what if it's only Aunt Nora and Lukas that are cheering her on? They are all she needs and she knows they will be there for her when she gets home, dealing with the loss of her friend.

Muir pushes herself to keep walking through the maze, and after a few more minutes of wandering and a couple more dead ends, she finally exits the maze. And standing in front of her is a tall, elegant looking building that she recognizes from seeing it so often on television. One she hopes that she'll see for real in person in just a few days.

Muir has to make it to the actual President's mansion, and the only way to do that is by winning. She will make it to that victor's party. She will be crowned the victor of the 113th Hunger Games. But first…

First she will have to fight Pyrite… Her heart already aches at the thought of losing her friend, but it is easy to push aside that ache now when Pyrite isn't in front of her. Choosing to separate from Pyrite might have been her best decision because it's harder to think about going on without them when they're standing right in front of her. She's gone through loss before, loss that still hurts her to this day. How could the loss of a friend compare to the loss of her mother?

Muir supposes she will find out that answer soon enough…even if she doesn't want to.

* * *

 _ **I'm sorry T.T**_

 **Eulogies:**

 _ **Tanelai Dorvet, Ranked 5th, Killed by Stark [2]:**_

 _Tanelai's death hurt me so damn much. I wasn't prepared going into that chapter for just how sad it would make me to write Tanelai's death. She's always been one of my favorites since she was one of the first few tributes I ever made. She had a lot of aspects of me in her, which is probably why it's always been a delight to write her sections. And I knew there was no way she was going to not get attached to Garth. He was just such a good boy and she needed someone to help her get through the Games. But unfortunately, she would rather fight a career than see anything happen to Garth. RIP Tanelai._

 _ **Stark Calloway, Ranked 4th, Killed by Gamemaker Trap:**_

 _Ah my pissy boy. Honestly I still love Stark even if he is so cancelled after what he did to the valid kiddos. I just love my D2 boys and a good villain. He was fun to write be all pissed off at everything going wrong throughout the Games and then when he finally got his way...his own arrogance got the better of him XD Should have known better Stark than to call yourself the victor before you actually win. Stark got what was coming to him and his death was well deserved. Feel free to all cancel him for this, I know I have lol. RIP Stark._

 _ **Garth Rycroft, Ranked 3rd, Killed by Pyrite Cherno [1]:**_

 _Garth has been...such an absolute delight to write this whole time. He is so complex and he's gone through some real struggles. He always tried to do his best, yet his best wasn't always what was right. But he meant well, and that was what made him and his struggles so great to write. I sobbed the whole time writing this section. He deserved to have a whole POV dedicated to his death. This was one of those deaths that when it was time to write it, I asked myself if I could actually do it. Garth had a lot to fight for and good reasons to get back home, but sometimes those tributes that deserve it aren't the ones that win. And he certainly did, but the mistakes he made in the past caught up to him. Dreamer! Have you learned your lesson about sending me valid boys? XD But seriously...thank you so much for sending Garth to me. I'm so glad you did and I've gotten to know you over the course of this story! RIP Garth._

 **And with that...we have reached the final two. That's right, next chapter is the finale. So take your bets, it's time to decide who will be the victor of the 113th Hunger Games!**

 **RQ #30:** Simple question. Who do you think will win?

 **Now for real the next update is going to be after Senseless lol. At this time, I am aiming for July 27th or 28th for the finale. So everyone...it is time...to carry on my wayward son. There'll be peace (maybe) when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest... And don't you cry no more.**

 **I will leave you with one final thing that I have made to prepare for the finale:** **youtu. be/KTGKBQKt3_Q**


	38. Day Six: Wayward

**Chapter 35:**

 _Day Six_

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

It's finally time for these chaotic Games to end. Some were saying these Games were too short – and Lisia does agree with them, to some extent. But she also can't wait to finally get away from Akakios.

Something…is wrong with him. She's assuming it's the lack of sleep, but…would it really be a bad thing if something happens to him and he can no longer be the Head Gamemaker? Lisia won't get screamed at anymore. She might actually _enjoy_ coming in to work. But she can't get her hopes up. At least, not yet. Not when there are still two tributes remaining.

Pyrite had waited a few hours in the morning before finally starting to move. Lisia had started to grow worried that they wouldn't move and get forced to the fight by the Gamemakers. It wouldn't make for as dramatic of a finale with these two. But with a little excessive beeping of the tracker as a nudge, Pyrite finally started heading towards Muir.

Muir couldn't have picked a better spot for the finale, and she knows Akakios wanted it to end there. Yet he's been oddly quiet as the final two tributes get closer to their fight, both of them seemingly have gotten the resolve to fight. Lisia glances over at Akakios as Pyrite reaches the gate leading into the hedge maze, confused as to why he isn't giving any instructions to the Gamemakers. He holds a hand pressed against his forehead and when he notices Lisia staring, he scowls at her, but only half of his face moves. "What do you want?" He asks, the words slurring and taking her aback.

"Are you drunk?" Lisia asks him in disbelief, unable to believe that he cares that little about his job that he would _drink_ before the finale. "Right before the finale?"

"Are you…fuckin…" Akakios stands up and takes one step closer to her, before stumbling and tripping over his own feet. He slams into the ground in front of her and Lisia stares at him with wide eyes as the Games Headquarters goes quiet, before all hell breaks loose.

"Oh my God!"

"Is he okay?"

Lisia is pushed aside as other Gamemakers run up to Akakios on the ground, finding him barely responding to them. Lisia stands back, watching them scramble around the terrible man and making no effort to help them. No way in hell will she help him. She tries to hold back the small smirk of satisfaction that the man finally got what was coming to him, knowing the others will judge her. But boy is she happy to see him fall.

"He's still breathing!" One person yells out, their hand pressed against his neck. "Get the medics in here now!"

Lisia scowls at this and turns back to the screens, not wanting any of them to know how much she doesn't want him to live. There's a special place in hell for men like Akakios Salome, and she hopes he's on an express trip straight there. Except with Akakios collapsing to the ground, no one is paying attention to the two tributes left in the arena. Two tributes that are hopefully about to fight and if not, the Gamemakers need to do something. The Gamemakers that aren't paying any attention to them.

"OI!" Lisia shouts out above the Gamemakers screaming in concern for a man that doesn't deserve it. They all quiet down and stare at her, various states of panic on their faces. Lisia points over at the screens, "We are about to have our finale. It is your _job_ to be watching these tributes and making sure nothing goes wrong. Yet what are you all doing? Screaming and running around like a chicken with its head cut off!" Lisia puts both hands on her hips as she stares at the Gamemakers, all of them older than her, yet unable to realize how important this moment is and that they all have their heads on the chopping block right now if this fails. "Do you want to be the one explaining to President Xavier why we didn't do our job after we called for medics to look after Akakios? Because I sure don't."

Lisia lets out a huff as she turns back around to face the screens, anger pumping through her that these people care so much about a man who doesn't give a damn about them. Pyrite is just stepping out of the hedge maze, facing Muir where she sits across the lawn on the glass steps leading up into the mansion. She doesn't care what the others do, but she is doing her damn job now when it matters most.

"You're right," Kyriaki, the man in charge of the arena, speaks up first, and Lisia turns her head back to look over at him. He stares at her standing in the Head Gamemakers spot, and gives her the same respect that he would give Akakios. "I can be on standby with the arena and have a trap or two ready."

"I'll get mutts ready," another adds, and suddenly, a small team has gotten back into action, all because Lisia told them too.

And boy is that a damn good feeling that she could get used to.

She catches a glimpse of Fabio smiling proudly at her as she turns back to watch the action unfolding – or what she hopes will be action. She doesn't want to have to kill one of them because they refuse to fight…but she isn't sure about that right now.

Muir stands up, leaving behind her supplies aside from her spear and some knives, and Pyrite drops their bag onto the ground next to them. Lisia waits to see if one of them will start running and make the first move, yet they stand still for a minute, simply staring across at each other with unreadable faces.

Muir is the first to take slow steps down the stairs, a frown forming on her face as she reaches the ground and Pyrite starts to slowly walk towards her. It's clear to anyone watching that these two are taking their time because they don't want to fight each other. Minutes pass until they are finally standing twenty feet apart, the pain on their faces growing with each passing second.

"So this is it," Muir speaks up, pain filling her voice as she stares over at her former ally. Pyrite slowly nods their head, keeping their hand rested on the hilt of their sword hanging at their hip, but making no move to unsheathe it. "I spent all night preparing myself to fight you. I talked myself into thinking that I could handle losing you. After all, I've lost my mother…how could anything possibly hurt more than losing the person that raised me?"

The words hurt Pyrite and they let it show on their face, only making Muir start frowning more. "I did the same thing," Pyrite tells her, shaking their head and letting out a sad laugh. "I have my family back home, waiting for me. I…I have to get home to them. I can't let them see me die…"

"I know," Muir tells them sadly, her face full of regret as she stares at them. "That is what has made this the hardest part… I know what it's like for a family to lose someone they love… How can I be responsible for that?"

Pyrite stares at Muir, tears starting to form in their eyes. "You want to know what's the worst part for me?"

"What?" Muir asks softly, not looking like she really wants to know the answer. But she still meets Pyrite's gaze as they stare back, trying to find the words to say.

"Losing my friend and living with the guilt of knowing it was all my fault."

Muir stares at Pyrite, her face filling with sadness as she stares shaking her head at them and tears start silently falling down her cheeks. "No! Don't you dare say that! Don't make this harder than it already is." Muir says, her voice raising and Pyrite takes a step back from her. She takes a deep breath before continuing at a softer volume. "I don't want to lose you. It's not fair that the first friend I make in _years_ has to be in the arena." Muir falls quiet, tears finally falling down her face as she stares at Pyrite. "I've already lost my mom and now I have to lose you? It's simply not fair."

"I know it's not…" Pyrite says as they slowly start taking steps towards Muir. Muir doesn't back away from them, but her body does tense up slightly. "I don't want to lose you either," Pyrite tells her before stepping up to Muir and pulling her into a hug. Muir hesitates in their arms before soon quickly returning the hug, holding onto Pyrite tightly. "You're my friend…now and always…" Pyrite takes a deep breath and the camera zooms in to show the tears forming in their eyes. "I am always going to treasure our friendship…"

"So will I…" Muir tells them, tears freely flowing down her cheeks. "Thank you, Pyrite, for being my friend." Muir pulls back at this, giving Pyrite a smile through her tears. They both stare at each other for a long moment, studying each other's face, before their smiles quickly fade away.

Suddenly, they both look down at a knife driving into one of their chests, and the cameras stay close up on their faces to watch the shock and betrayal play out in their eyes. But for Lisia and the others in the Games Headquarters, they can see exactly who it was that stabbed a knife into the chest of the other person. Both of their eyes are filled with bewilderment as they stare down at the knife before the victim gasps and starts to collapse, but is caught by the person who betrayed them.

Tears pour down Pyrite's face as the two lower to the ground and Pyrite clutches onto Muir, gasping for air in her arms. Similar tears fall down Muir's face as Pyrite stares up at her in shock and betrayal. "How could you…" Pyrite gasps out before crying out at the pain from both the knife in their chest and the betrayal from the person they just called their friend. "W-why?"

"I'm so sorry. I knew I couldn't face you in a fight, not after you called me your friend…" Muir whispers to them, bringing up a bloodstained hand to push back some of Pyrite's hair that has fallen in their face. She holds her hand against their cheek, brushing away tears that are flowing freely down their face. "You truly were my friend…and I will never forget you…" Muir looks up at the sky, trying to blink back her own tears before turning back down at Pyrite's gasps for air. "But I can't let him lose one more person he loves."

Pyrite shakes their head at her, opening and closing their mouth as they try to find the words to say in their dying moments. "Will you…" Pyrite stops to cough, blood splattering Muir's face as their lungs fill with blood, but the girl doesn't care. Not when her friend is dying in her arms. "B-be…ha…"

"Happy?" Muir asks for them as they struggle with their words, and they just barely nod their head. Muir sniffles and uses a hand to quickly wipe at her dripping nose before pulling Pyrite into a tight hug. "I think so," Muir tells them softly.

The cameras zoom in up close to Pyrite's face and the faintest smile forming on their face. "Good…" they say to Muir. "That's all…I want…" Pyrite gets out before releasing a final sigh of air.

Muir leans back, staring down at the face of her former ally. Pyrite died with a smile on their face and eyes shut, looking at peace with their death, which only makes Muir put her head against their shoulder and start sobbing. "I'm sorry I betrayed you like this…but I had to win."

The Games Headquarters is silent as they watch Muir react to killing their friend, giving her a moment to grieve. It was a move that Lisia hadn't expected from Muir…she was certain that she was going to see a fight between the two careers. But this…Lisia is in shock from this betrayal. She hears a sniffle next to her and glances over to see Mara fighting to hold in tears, so Lisia reaches over to take her hand.

With Mara's hand still in hers, Lisia looks over at the monitors for the trackers and the flatline now present for Pyrite. "That's it," she calls out to the other Gamemakers. "Fire the cannon and notify Elliot to make the announcement. We have our victor."

 _Boom._

Muir picks up her head at the sound of the cannon, her cheeks stained with tears. She gently lays Pyrite down on the ground, clutching their jacket with both hands as she leans down to press a soft kiss against Pyrite's forehead. "Thank you…my friend," she whispers to Pyrite one last time before sitting back, wiping away the tears on her face that are quickly replaced by fresh tears. Muir slowly stands up, her legs wobbly and her whole body shaking, yet she does her best to keep her head held high. Muir may have gotten through this finale physically unscathed, but not all injuries leave scars. And surely she will have some from this fight. But at least she is _alive_.

" _Our victor of the 113_ _th_ _Hunger Games, Muir Barak of District Four!"_

Lisia lets out a sigh at the announcement, knowing it is done. She turns around to finally face Akakios and the team of medics next to him. And from the looks on their faces, she thinks she will like the news.

But before anyone can speak, the doors open and Lisia stands up tall and subtly fixes her appearance at the man entering the room, his gaze going between Lisia and Akakios. President Xavier stops in front of the medic team and the lead doctor stands up, putting her hands behind her back and politely nodding her head in greeting. "Mr. President, sir…" She starts as the team gets Akakios on a stretcher and carries him out of the room. Lisia does her best to listen in while not appearing so, desperate to hear what is happening to him. "It appears he had a stroke. If we get him into the operating theater quickly, we should be able to stop serious damage. But it is possible he might have serious cognitive and physical deficits."

Lisia stares at the President's face, watching his reaction to this news. Yet…there is no reaction. "A stroke…truly tragic," he says, glancing over at Lisia for a briefest moment, and she sees no surprise in his gaze. "Do your best, of course."

"Yes sir, right away," she responds before running after her team.

President Xavier turns his attention to Lisia, staring at her for a few silent seconds, and she does her best not to flinch away. "Miss Arune, we meet again."

"We do, sir," Lisia answers him confidently, before hesitating, wanting to tell him all that she just did.

"Excellent work you did there," he tells her, a twinkle in his eyes as he smiles at her, and Lisia stands proudly at his praise. But he soon turns his attention to the others, all watching him with various levels of nervousness and grief. "Our finest medical team will be working to treat Head Gamemaker Salome right now. Your jobs are done here…we have our victor. Take a well-earned rest as we prepare to celebrate our victor. Once these Games are completely over, we will figure out what to do next with the Gamemaker team." He turns his gaze back to Lisia, staring at her before continuing, "And be sure to thank Miss Arune here for stepping up to lead in such a tragic moment. You did well in serving Panem."

* * *

 **And with that...we have our victor. I honestly went into this finale truly not knowing who to pick as the victor. I love both of these tributes so very much and would have been happy with either one winning. I wrote this finale twice, with each one winning and...I went with my gut feeling. I wanted to have this betrayal in that moment of being vulnerable, and I just didn't think Pyrite would do that. And so, the victor is Muir. I should have known that it would be Muir. She has always been one of my favorites and every POV of hers has come so easily. I know a lot of you also like Muir so I hope you are happy with this decision.**

 **And one last time, eulogies:**

 _ **Pyrite Cherno, Ranked 2nd, Killed by Muir [4]:**_

 _You know, going into this finale, Pyrite was my first choice. I have loved the journey they have been on in the arena and had some cool ideas for what to do with them in the future. They were one of those tributes that crept up out of nowhere to claim the spot as one of my favorites. I think it was their dynamic with Muir that made me really start to love them, which I guess should have been a sign that it would be Muir lol. For a couple months, I had planned on it being Pyrite. I had plans for them finally getting their dream of acting in the Capitol, yet unhappy with it because they were forced to do Games related things and it hurt too much after killing Muir. But alas...they were betrayed. They got too close to their friend and didn't realize that Muir was willing to betray them like that to get home to her family. Thank you, Art, for sending me them! I have had so much fun writing them and I hope you enjoyed their story!_

 **And so the Games have ended! A very wild and crazy Games lol. And of course we also had a little bit of subplot thrown in there with Akakios and Lisia. I have three epilogues planned for this story, and we will look at Muir and Lisia next at the victory party, have ten featured tribute epilogues, and one final epilogue with Muir! I'm very happy to finally have our victor and I hope you have enjoyed these Games.**

 **We will still see lots of Muir as part of both Legacy and in Senseless! Be on the lookout because tomorrow I will be posting the first prologue for Legacy!**

 **Oh I nearly forgot to have a random question for this chapter!**

 **RQ #31:** Are you happy with Muir as victor or would you have preferred Pyrite?

 **Alright see you all soon with the first of the epilogues!**


	39. Epilogue I: Celebration of the Victor

**Epilogue I:**

 _Muir Barak, Victor of the 113_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Everyone keeps congratulating her, but Muir doesn't feel like she deserves it. They all have forgotten that Muir killed someone she considered her friend…Murdered them when they were at their weakest point, reaching out to her for comfort. They trusted her in that moment, and she killed them. Maybe the Capitol never cared that they were friends, despite the recap of her Games being focused on their friendship. Or maybe they care more about the drama and 'excitement' of how it ended.

All Muir knows is that she is damn tired of Okeanas praising her for betraying Pyrite the way she did.

"Okeanas, would you just shut up!" Muir finally snaps at her mentor, unable to hear one more word from her mentor critiquing her friend. The small crowd of Capitolites gathered around her and Okeanas fall quiet and stare over her as she feels tears well in her eyes. "Excuse me," she says quickly before walking away from them.

Muir pulls up the end of her gown as she all but runs away from the people, starting to head out of the mansion, before freezing up as she stands on steps that are all too familiar to her. Muir collapses onto the stairs, putting her face in her hands and letting out the tears she has been doing so well at holding in all night. She did her best to be brave during the recap, holding her head high as they showed the things she did. She didn't want Lukas or Aunt Nora to see her break down from the pain and guilt she feels.

Pyrite deserved the victory just as much as she does. Maybe more since they didn't betray her and kill her in a moment of trust. Muir shuts her eyes and starts shaking her head as she keeps relieving the moment, seeing all over again the shock and betrayal in their eyes. She's disgusted with what she did. All because she knew she couldn't face them in an actual fight. She didn't want to hurt them or take the risk of losing… She knew they would struggle as well to fight her…and she took advantage of that. And here she is now, the victor. Maybe she deserves it because she did whatever it took. And maybe that's also why she doesn't deserve it.

Maybe none of the victors are the ones that deserved to win. They're just the ones willing to play dirty to stay alive. Maybe that's why the victor's crown feels heavy on her head, a bitter reminder of what she has done to reach this point.

And yet…a small part of her deep down is proud of herself. She _did_ this. She is the victor. Years of hard work, successfully paid off. Her mother's dying wish…completed. And yet, she hates herself a little for feeling proud of this. This was never how she imagined she would feel after the Games: overwhelming guilt about what she did, laced with pride that she also feels guilty about.

"Mom, I hope you're at least proud," Muir whispers into her hands before picking up her head and trying to wipe away her tears. "I did it all for you. But you aren't even here to help me get through this now…"

Muir sighs, knowing she also won't even Lukas around to help her. Not for another year… Right now…she only has herself.

Someone clears their throat behind her and Muir lets out a heavy sigh, letting her annoyance at talking to more people show on her face for a brief moment before turning to face whatever excited fan she has to talk to now. "Can I – oh." Muir cuts herself off, feeling like a damn fool as she stares up at the President of Panem. She tries to get up, but he motions for her to stay sitting before taking a spot next to her, making her feel even weirder about all of this.

"Don't let me interrupt your thoughts," President Xavier tells her, a small smile on his face. "And I'm not old, I can handle sitting down on some stairs with our newest victor."

They sit in silence for a moment, Muir growing more uncomfortable by the second at how weird this situation is. She's just sitting on the stairs to the President's mansion, the same steps she sat on just a couple days ago before killing Pyrite, but with the actual President next to her. She just doesn't know what to say to him, but knows he will probably talk about the Games. So she talks about the one thing not related to her in the Games news. "I'm sorry to hear about Head Gamemaker Salome's death."

"Don't be," President Xavier responds right away, surprising Muir with his cool tone. "He is not a man you would have liked to know."

"Oh," Muir answers, simply not knowing how else to respond. "Well then."

"Indeed," President Xavier says and they stare out at the gardens in front of the stairs for a few moments in silence. "I find the real thing of this mansion much lovelier than the mansion Akakios created."

"Forgive me, sir, but it's not very pleasant for me to be here right now," Muir tells him honestly, unsure why exactly, but he just…feels like a parental figure you can be honest with.

"I suppose it wouldn't for you," President Xavier says quietly to himself before turning to look at Muir. "So what will you do now?"

Muir lets out a heavy sigh at this and shrugs, really having no idea now. "I don't know…probably what every other victor in Four does. I've thought about the Peacekeepers if I didn't volunteer, but…" _But she doesn't want to give up the family she might have soon._

"The Peacekeepers is a noble cause, but not one for a new victor. Enjoy your new life, be happy like you promised Pyrite," President Xavier tells her, only making her start frowning right away. She did tell Pyrite she would be happy…but she's not. She's far from it right now and she doesn't know when she'll ever reach that point. "Maybe even adopt an animal."

"I can barely take care of myself," Muir scoffs, making the President chuckle a little. "I don't know…I want to do something relaxing that will take my mind off of things. Maybe painting or writing could be good… Or surfing. I always wanted to learn but didn't have the time or money for lessons."

"I am sure you will find what to do," President Xavier reassures her, but she doesn't feel too sure about it. "Now I am afraid that I must get back and handle some things with the Gamemakers. I just always make to come talk to our newest victor. Good luck with things, Muir, and know that you do deserve to be sitting here and wearing that victor's crown."

That statement just makes Muir feel even more like she doesn't deserve it. She politely smiles at the President as he goes to stand up, before suddenly having a thought. "Wait, Mr. President, if I may…" Muir says hesitantly, not really knowing how much say she has now that she is a victor. He gestures for her to continue and she picks at her finely manicured nails as she continues, "I have a request. Well, two, actually…"

* * *

 _Lisia Arune, Gamemaker Intern_

Lisia is surprisingly nervous as she is led towards the President's office for a meeting that she has been told nothing about. Well, she can take a guess at what it is about: Akakios Salome. They have kept most of the information regarding his death from the public, just telling the country that Akakios had a fatal stroke _after_ the Games have completed. Part of Lisia was deeply angry at that announcement as she was completely discredited for what she did to make sure that things didn't go poorly. But after a couple hours of simmering in her rage and a pep talk from Fabio and Mara, she understands now. The President cannot let the country know that in the biggest moment of the Games, they weren't in complete control.

And so Lisia will sit back and bide her time.

One of the Presidential guard holds the office door open for her and she steps in, doing her best to hide her surprise on her face when she finds that she isn't the only one from the Gamemaker team that has been brought in for this meeting with the President of Panem. "Mr. President. Gamemaker Grisham."

Kyriaki nods his head at her in greeting as the President gestures to the two seats on the other side of the desk from him. "Please, take a seat." Lisia and Kyriaki do as they are told and the President folds his hands on his desk as a cup of tea is poured in front of him. "I won't keep you long from the party but this is the easiest place to gather you two together. We have important information to discuss regarding the Games." President Xavier lets out a small sigh as he leans back in his chair and takes a sip of his tea, staring at both of them. "As we're all aware, we do not have a Head Gamemaker right now. It would have been better to wait a couple years for Lisia to be fully trained, but given…things happening, well, we will make do now."

Lisia does her best to hide her reaction, but she can't help her eyebrows raising in surprise. The President stares at the two of them, waiting for them to fully understand what he is tell them. Lisia shares a look with Kyriaki, but the older man doesn't seem to be too surprised by this new knowledge that the President had Akakios killed in an inconspicuous way. Kyriaki is the first to turn back to the President and speak up. "So what do we do now?"

President Xavier leans forward once more, still holding his tea cup with both hands. "You two were the first ones to step up and lead. That will not go unnoticed. Now, Lisia…"

Lisia sits up straight at this. "Yes sir?"

"You obviously stepped right into the Head Gamemaker spot, like you have been training to do," President Xavier sips his tea as Lisia's heart starts racing and she does her best to keep cool and not get her hopes up. "I think you will do a good job as being the Head Gamemaker."

"Oh thank you, sir, I won't-"

"In a couple years after you have had more training," President Xavier continues, giving her a small look of pity as her shoulders slouch over and immense disappointment fills her. How stupid was she to think he would make her the Head Gamemaker after one year of being an intern? Stupid, stupid. "You show great promise and I think you will someday make a great Head Gamemaker."

"I sure hope so, sir," Lisia tells him, still upset and embarrassed at her assumption on the future.

"In the meantime, Kyriaki, you will take over as Head Gamemaker," President Xavier continues, turning his gaze over to the new Head Gamemaker. "Is that okay?"

Kyriaki nods his head, not that he has much say in this. "Yes, sir. But this isn't something I have really wanted. I prefer not being in charge of people."

"Which is why I'm choosing you. You're less likely to let the power get to your head," President Xavier smiles at him before looking over at Lisia. "You are to work very closely with Miss Arune and train her. And then you will let her take over. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes sir," Kyriaki tells him right away before they both look over at Lisia.

Lisia knows she has to respond, but her thoughts are filled with embarrassment over how naïve she was. But he just said it would be a couple years of more training and then she will be the Head Gamemaker. Finally, Lisia nods her head, knowing she can't let her embarrassment keep her from accepting this. "Of course, sir. I won't disappoint you."

"You haven't yet."

Lisia smugly smiles at this and sits up a bit straighter. "I did tell you we would meet again."

"You did not lie," President Xavier responds with an amused look in his eyes. "Now, anything else you two would like to discuss about the changes in the Gamemaker team?"

Kyriaki shakes his head at the President, even though he looks just a bit overwhelmed at the responsibility being placed on his shoulders. Lisia thinks for a moment and hesitantly speaks up. "Actually, sir…"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if…" Lisia hesitates, not even knowing if the girl she's thinking of will want this, but knowing she has to try to reach out to her. "If we could see if Sabina would like to come back now that Akakios is gone?"

President Xavier mulls this over for a moment, before nodding his head. "I will reach out to her and see what she would like to do."

* * *

 **Alright here we are, our first epilogue with a little glimpse at how Muir is handling her victory and also what exactly is happening with the Gamemakers! I didn't feel the need for a real long epilogue to show this, so here we are, short and sweet.**

 **Also, today is a fun day because it is Wayward's second birthday! It's wild that it has been two years already since I started this story. I still remember getting all hyped about this while I was on a trip to Montana but it does not feel like it's been two years already XD well, here's to another two years of writing SYOTs lol (just not this one XD).**

 **So yeah, here we are, two epilogues left in the story! It's crazy how close to the end we are with this story. I have the other two epilogues written so those will be up soonish, once I make some more progress with Senseless and Legacy! So make sure to check those out in the meantime. Next epilogue we will have tribute epilogues for the ten featured tributes and the last epilogue will be another look at Muir, one year later.**

 **RQ #32: What do you think Muir's two requests are?**

 **Alrighty, see you all soon!**


	40. Epilogue II: Remembering the Fallen

**Epilogue II:**

 _In Memory of Keelin Varela, 20_ _th_ _Place_

 _Two Months Later_

Nira spins the ring on her finger anxiously as she stares up at the apartment building in front of her. It had taken so much effort to find the will to come here today. It took so much to pull herself out of bed each day and face the day, knowing that Keelin is gone. Usually what finally got her moving was reaching over to the other side of the bed and finding the sheets empty and cold. And then she would look down at the ring on her hand and the pain would be magnified as she is reminded that if Keelin's name hadn't been picked, she would have proposed to her. Then she couldn't stand to stay in that bed any longer.

It hadn't taken long after the Reaping for Nira to stumble across the ring hidden under Keelin's pillow… She knew right away what it meant. How many times had she told Keelin to ask her about marrying her after she was safe from the Reapings? She shouldn't have said that. She should have let Keelin properly propose to her. Nira has no doubt that's what Keelin would have done as soon as she was back home in Five. Yet her chance was taken away from her before she even had the chance to fight for Nira.

Tears well in Nira's eyes as she stares down at the tiny sapphire on what would have been her engagement ring. She would have said yes in a heartbeat to Keelin. She loved her with everything in her. "It's not fair what she did to you, babe…" Nira whispers, knowing Keelin can hear her wherever she is now. "You never got a chance to fight…"

Nira sniffles and wipes at her eyes before looking back up at the apartment door in front of her. Hesitation keeps her from knocking on the door. Hesitation to find out the answer that waits for her. Once she knows this…she might have nothing else to keep searching for on Keelin's behalf. This might finally be the day that she finds Keelin's father and can tell him how much she didn't stop searching for him. But yet…she needs this closure. She needs to close this chapter so she can try to start healing and moving on from Keelin, because she knows that will never happen if she keeps dedicating her time towards finding Keelin's father. But part of her deep down, a masochistic part of her that she wishes she could fight, almost hopes that she won't get her answer today so she can keep clinging on to this part of Keelin that she still has. She can keep pretending that she'll head home and in a few hours, Keelin will get home from work and get coal dust all over their tiny apartment, and give her a kiss on the cheek before heading into the shower and making a joke about Nira joining her.

But that reality is long gone.

Nira takes a deep breath before finally knocking on the apartment door. She can't keep holding on like this any longer. Keelin wouldn't want her struggling still like this. She waits a few moments, growing anxious as she hears footsteps approaching the door. It opens up, revealing an older looking man who stares at her with apprehension. "Hi…" Nira says nervously, trying to study his face and see if she recognizes any of Keelin's features. "Are you…Alistair?"

The man leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms as he stares at Nira, distrustful look on his face. "Who's asking?"

"I am," Nira says defensively. "I'm looking for Alistair because he's the father of my girlfriend. We've been searching for him for years. Do you know how hard it is to find someone when you only know their first name?"

"Oh…" the man sighs as he shakes his head at Nira. "I hate to break it to you, kid, but Alistair died about…five? Six years ago? I bought this apartment after him."

"No…" Nira whispers, shaking her head as she takes a few steps back from this man. "That can't be true…"

Nira's legs start shaking and she sits down on the steps, putting her head in her hands as she struggles to process this information. This entire time…he's been dead? No wonder it was so hard to find him… They've been looking for a dead man.

"Are you alright?" The man asks her, voice full of concern for Nira.

"No," Nira answers with a sad laugh. "I just spent the last few years searching for a dead man. And Keelin never even knew that both of her parents were dead."

"Look, I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do," the man tells her and Nira picks up her head to look at him. "At least you know now?"

"I suppose…" Nira responds sadly, feeling empty inside. What is she even supposed to do now? She's been so focused on this for years, especially in the last two months. She's tried so hard to find Alistair for Keelin, and he's been gone all this time. "Do you…know where he is buried?"

* * *

 _In Memory of Ryo Hideki, 18_ _th_ _Place_

 _One Month Later_

Dampero can't keep putting this off any longer, even if he wants to. He just doesn't want to keep disappointing Bee when they call him again tomorrow to ask if he has talked to her already and have to say no. He knows they're just looking out for him…but he knows this won't end well despite Bee's positivity. But they don't know Odani Hideki like Dampero does.

Dampero doesn't even know if he can call Odani his friend anymore…surely she doesn't forgive him. He broke her promise to her after swearing he would do everything he could to get Ryo home. But he didn't. He didn't even get the chance to fight for Ryo. _Ryo_ didn't even get the chance to fight in the arena… It's not fair. He knows he couldn't have stopped Jinx from throwing those beads…but it doesn't stop him from feeling like it's his fault or that he could have done more.

"Dampero?"

He turns around at the confused voice, finding Ryo's mother standing at the bottom of the porch steps. "Hi, Mrs. Hideki…" he says quietly, refusing to meet her eyes out of fear that she will yell at him.

"How long have you been standing here?" Akemi Hideki asks, concern filling her voice as she steps up to the porch. She glances back at him as she unlocks the front door, giving him a sad look when she takes a good look at his face. "Come on in, I will make you some tea."

Dampero obediently follows after her into the house and into the kitchen he's so familiar with. She points at the seat at the counter and he sits, patiently waiting as she puts water on the stove to heat up. Once the stove is lit, she turns around to face him, hands on her hips as she stares down at him. "How come I haven't seen you here in a month?"

"You know why," Dampero whispers, fighting back tears that want to form in his eyes. He can barely even look at her. "I failed you. I failed _him._ "

"Oh shush," Akemi says quickly before walking over and pulling his head against her shoulder. "You did what you could. Now, drink some tea and let me tell Odani you're here."

Dampero tenses up at this, knowing he needs to face her…yet he can't. But before he can stop Akemi, she's already left the kitchen and has gone upstairs to find his friend. He can hear muffled yelling from upstairs, making him cringe, especially when a door slams and angry footsteps sound down the stairs. He slowly turns around, facing the entryway to the kitchen, with his head hung in shame as he faces Odani.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" Odani yells at him, hands clenched tightly in her anger. "You have some real nervous coming back here, Dampero Ramin."

"Odani, I-"

"Don't!" Odani screams at him as her mother appears by her side, trying to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but Odani just shakes her off. "Don't tell me any fucking lies! You promised me, asshole!" Odani stomps over to him, pointing at him right at his chest, but he makes no move to stop her. She slams her fist into his chest, yet he just stays still. "You fucking _lied_ to me."

"You're right," Dampero tells her quietly. "I deserve you yelling at me. I failed…"

"Get out of my house," Odani says, her voice cold and barely above a whisper. When Dampero doesn't move instantly, she screams in his face as tears slip down her cheeks. "I hate you! GET OUT!"

"Okay," Dampero says quickly before getting off the stool and walking as quickly as he can out of this place. Tears form in his eyes as he hears Akemi trying to get him to stay, but Odani keeps screaming about how much he has hurt her.

He runs out the door and down the steps, not slowly until he is a couple blocks away. He takes shaky breaths, trying to stop himself from crying, but he can't. He knew that Odani would never forgive him. Why would she? He broke the biggest promise to her, one that cost her brother his life… And now, now he's lost one of his closest friends.

He's better off staying on his own. Or at least away from people here in District Six. That way, he can't disappoint anyone else when he fails to bring home their loved one.

* * *

 _In Memory of Luciana Kilroy, 10_ _th_ _Place_

 _Eight Months Later_

They have failed.

Sabina stands with the gang towards the back of the crowd, watching as the newly elected Mayor Blaise Janek gets sworn into office. The gang that has been incomplete for months. Thirteen months since it first was broken apart. And eight months since they lost the one that held them all together. Sabina has done her best to keep them all together in the months since the Reaping, but she knows she hasn't done as well as Kilroy did when she was leading them. She's so young and inexperienced…she doesn't understand why Kilroy told Cassian to put her in charge. She's just a kid, not a leader.

And that's why they've failed Kilroy and let Blaise Janek be elected.

"We should have stopped him," Sabina whispers, guilt overwhelming her as she glares at the man who has ruined their gang. "We could have done more."

"What else could we have done?" Vex asks her, voice harsh. "We've tried so many things and they all failed."

Faustus puts a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We've done what we could to stop him… I know Kilroy knows this and isn't mad at us."

"What do we do now?" Sabina asks the gang members, feeling lost in this moment. They failed at stopping Blaise Janek from getting elected. They didn't even succeed in their mission to destroy Martinus Dorvin for what he did to Drusa… She doesn't know what else they can do now. Everything they've tried in the past eight months has failed to stop Blaise from being elected as the mayor and now the corrupt man who rigged Kilroy into the Games has power over the entire District.

"We keep fighting," Vex says as she takes out her knife to pick at her nails. Sabina looks over at her cold voice, finding the older girl's face hardened. She looks up at Sabina as she continues, meeting her gaze with cold eyes. "We show those bastards they have messed with the wrong gang."

"I like the way you think, Vex," Faustus says as he puts his arm around Vex, making her point her knife over at him threateningly until he moves his arm. He cracks his knuckles as he stares down at Sabina, a move that should make her scared of him, but she just feels protected. "I think we need to change up our strategies in this gang."

"And what do you suggest?" Sabina asks them, letting them lead more than she actually leads them.

Faustus and Vex share a look, both with smug expressions on their faces before turning back to Sabina. Vex flips her knife around in her hands, drawing Sabina's attention to the sharp blade. "I think it's time we give those bastards a taste of their own medicine."

"Are you suggesting…" Sabina trails off, not quite believing they are really suggesting this. It goes against what Cassian wants from them. "We can't-"

"Who says we can't?" Faustus asks her, raising an eyebrow. "They have played dirty and murdered two of our own. I think it's only fair that we do the same."

Sabina turns back to the stage, staring at the man who sentenced her friend to her death…and resolution fills her to do whatever she can to stop him from hurting another one of them. "Let's do it."

* * *

 _In Memory of Addae Trillions, 8_ _th_ _Place_

 _Three Years Later_

No one was going to stop her.

Ramila waits in the line of children waiting to check into the Reaping, looking at the nervous faces on all of them. This is her final year. After this, she'll be safe from the Games. Or she would if she lived in any normal family. But she doesn't…

Why do they believe that she can do this? If her big brother couldn't do it…there's no way that she can do this… She's not nearly as strong and brave as Addae was. There's no way she can accomplish what he couldn't in the Games.

But she hasn't been able to say no to her family. They have done everything for her to be prepared in the last three years, training her, giving her extra food, _anything_ they thought would give her an edge… But it won't. She's not nearly as strong as Addae. She's not even strong enough to stand up to her family and tell them no, she will not do this. She's weak…barely able to pull herself to keep going after Addae's death. Even now, there's still days she feels numb and can't get out of bed. Days when she wants to scream and cry at the world, scream for them to bring back Addae.

Today she's numb. Numb to what she is about to do, all because her parents and grandmother have told her for years now that she must be the one to break the curse. That she is special and has powers that Addae didn't. But she doesn't and they will never listen to her. She is nothing.

Yet she'll still do what they say. She's lost all will to fight against them anymore. She will step forward, just like Addae did three years ago. She'll say the words that will lead to her death. All in the name of stopping some curse on Panem.

Ramila doesn't believe it anymore. Everything she ever knew seemed like a lie after watching those Games. If they were truly doing something good, why did Addae die? Why did she watch her brother get killed by a monster?

"Name?"

Ramila is brought out of her thoughts as she reaches the front of the line and she shakily holds out her hand to the Peacekeeper. "Ramila Trillions."

Her finger is pricked and after a second, she is motioned through. Slowly, she walks forward towards the front section, feeling like she's on her death march. And perhaps she is. Probably… No amount of training is going to prepare her for being in the Games. She won't be able to kill.

If there is one comfort Ramila can take from this decision…at least she is saving some innocent person from dying in the Games. But she won't be able to stop the ones next year, or the year after, on and on the Games will go, killing twenty-one children each year. She'll just be another number in the history books.

The Reaping begins and Ramila finds tears in her eyes. This is what Addae was trying to save her from when he volunteered. But he's not here to protect her. No one is going to protect her…

A crying girl is called up to the stage, making Ramila's stomach twist into a ball of nerves. That girl is so young…only thirteen. She has so much life left to live. A family cries out for the girl in the crowd. She still has a family that loves her… Ramila doesn't even have that anymore. All her family does anymore is focus on the curse. Focus on preparing her.

Maybe they'll care again when she's gone.

"I volunteer," Ramila calls out, tears slipping down her cheeks as she steps out of the crowd and towards her death.

* * *

 _In Memory of Jinx Holiday, 7_ _th_ _Place_

 _Six Months Later_

Sally has never felt more isolated than in the last six months. Everyone has refused to talk to her, all knowing that she was the only friend of the crazy girl from their District in this year's Games. Somehow, they all blamed her for Jinx going off the deep end and not becoming the victor. But it wasn't her fault…she always saw the good in Jinx and encouraged her to be a good girl…

But as they watch the recap of the Games again in school in preparation for the Victory Tour arriving in Ten, Sally is forced to finally acknowledge the truth. She didn't want to believe that it was Jinx making those decisions in the arena. She wanted to keep blindly believing that her best friend was actually good. But she cannot deny the truth as she's forced to relieve the Games. Jinx murdered multiple people in cold blood when they didn't even have a chance, using the necklace that _she_ bought for her friend.

As the bloodbath replays on the screen in the front of the class, Sally sinks further down into her seat, trying to hide from all the stares coming her way from her classmates. She shuts her eyes at the first explosion, unable to watch as Jinx continues to attack the tributes around her.

"What a psycho," someone whispers nearby and gets a few snickers of laughter from the group around them before they are shushed by their teacher.

"You really know how to pick them, don't you Sally?" Gerry whispers behind her, leaning forward across his desk to torment her. "A giggling psychopath with a giant crush on you."

Sally shakes her head, her eyes still shut as she tries to ignore him as screams sound in the background interlaced with explosions from the bloodbath. She didn't know at the time that Jinx had a crush on her…yet it explains so much. And with that knowledge…a terrible, sickly thought has been filling her head the past few months about Jinx after witnessing everything she did in the arena. She hadn't flinched at murdering others. She even _enjoyed_ it. And she did it all for Sally… Who's to say she wouldn't have done whatever it takes to make sure she was will Sally in Ten?

Could she really have murdered Galvin?

Sally opens her eyes at the lights turning on and she blinks against the change in brightness in the room. All attention is drawn to the door where the principal stands with two Peacekeepers, a sad look on her face as she addresses their teacher. "Pardon the interruption… But there has been a breakthrough in the case regarding Galvin's murder."

Sally's eyes widen at this and murmurs start in the classroom. Have they finally found out who killed him? Could it really have been someone other than Jinx? A small bit of hope fills her that her view on Jinx won't be completely tainted by the horrors of the 113th Games, but that soon disappears when the principal turns her gaze directly towards Sally and the Peacekeepers start weaving their way through the desks towards her. "I'm very disappointed that one of our own students was responsible for this."

"What?" Sally asks in confusion as the Peacekeepers reach her and one of them grabs her arm, pulling her out of her seat. The other quickly pulls her arms back and puts handcuffs on her wrist as Sally's jaw drops open in shock. "I didn't do it, why are you doing this!"

"Sally Velez, you are under arrest for the murder of Galvin Mannello."

Sally tenses up under the pressure of the Peacekeepers gripping her arm, shock freezing her in place. She stares around with wide eyes and when they start pulling her towards the door, she starts futilely struggling against them. "I didn't do it! I wanted to date him, not kill him!"

"Quiet, murderer!" One of the Peacekeepers yells at her as she's dragged to the front of the classroom, all eyes on her. Sally whimpers at them yelling at her and tears start to pour down her cheeks. "We found your DNA on the murder weapon."

The principal stares at her with disgust in her eyes and shakes her head. "I am so disappointed in you, Sally. But I am happy Galvin's parents can finally have closure."

"But I didn't-" Sally cries out as one of the Peacekeepers smacks her in the back with their baton. She gasps for air as she's dragged out of the room, losing all energy to try and tell them she didn't do it.

Sally knows she didn't murder Galvin. She never would have dreamed about it. But…she knows one person that would have been upset at the thought of Sally dating Galvin…

Jinx kept mentioning legal murder in the Games…did she do illegal murdering before the Games? Is that why she volunteered?

Sally will never know the answer…how can she get an answer from a dead girl? But also…how can they get justice for a murder done by a dead girl?

By framing someone else.

"I didn't do it…" Sally whispers feebly as she's taken out of the school, knowing her words aren't going to change things. If they want to frame her as the murderer…she will never be able to prove them wrong.

Sally is going to spend the rest of her life in prison because of Jinx. It has to have been Jinx.

Rage immediately fills her before being extinguished as quickly as it came. She devoted so much to her friend and now…now she is going to prison for her friend.

Jinx really never was a good girl…

* * *

 _In Memory of Beta Fanto, 6_ _th_ _Place_

 _Three Months Later_

Exhaustion fills every ounce of their body, but Tracer knows they can't stop yet. They have to keep trying. Beta never would have stopped trying to bring them back if the situation was reversed…but it's all their fault that this has happened. They weren't good enough at cast spells. If they would have tried something else, maybe they would have stopped Beta from dying…

Tracer cannot stop trying to bring Beta back. They're filled with too much guilt over this to quit trying to save their one and only friend…

"Please work…" Tracer mutters to themself as they sit alone in the tiny park, darkness slowly growing as the sun sets. Tracer says the spell as they stare down at the gathered herbs and stones – some of the last remnants from their time staying with Beta – and wait a few minutes after completing it, waiting to see if this is the time the spell worked.

But nothing changes. Tracer doesn't feel any different. There's no sign that the spell was able to bring Beta back.

"Why am I such a failure?" Tracer whispers to themself, a sob slipping out before they can even try to stop it. They pull their knees up to their chest and hold onto their legs tightly, sobbing as they face the reality of another failure. "It's all my fault Beta isn't here…I wasn't strong enough then and I'm not strong enough now…"

Tracer keeps silently crying, alone in the park as it gets darker and darker, unable to bring themself to even move and try to find somewhere to sleep for the night. Why should they have the comfort of sleep when Beta's spirit is out there and they can't bring him back?

"It's not safe to be out on your own at night."

Tracer jumps at the voice and scrambles to their feet, facing the person approaching them as an anxious feeling fills them from a man walking towards them. They take a nervous step back as he walks closer, but he stops when he sees how they react to him. "Hey, are you alright?" He asks as he stares at their tattered appearance. They know they are in rough shape, having been kicked out of Beta's house after his death and without a home to go to, were forced to live on the streets. They couldn't face the community home after the rumors about those places. For three months they have lived alone, scavenging for food where they could, never knowing for sure where they were going to sleep next. Every night, they tried again to bring Beta back to them. And every night, they failed.

Tears start forming without them being able to help it as Tracer stares up at them, recognizing the person from somewhere, but unable to figure out where, and that only makes their apprehension grow. Is this one of the men that hurt them before? They don't think so…they don't think he goes to their school. "Stay back," they tell him, holding up the tiny knife they stole from a restaurant their first week on their own.

He holds up his hands, showing he doesn't have anything in them to hurt them, but Tracer knows better than others that men can hurt them with more than just their hands. "Hey, I'm not trying to hurt you. I wanted to see if you're okay… My name is Emerson," he says slowly, bringing up a hand to push back his blond hair falling into his eyes. Kind eyes that Tracer finally recognizes.

"I know you," they whisper to him, getting a surprised look in return.

"You do?" Emerson asks, confused as he studies them and tries to recognize them. "We've met before?"

"Just once," Tracer whispers, growing sad at the memories of Reaping day when they walked out of the shop with Beta and literally ran right into Emerson. He had been kind that day too, just like today… "I'm Tracer."

"Tracer," Emerson repeats slowly, and Tracer finds they like the way their name sounds coming from him. "Well, Tracer, do you have anywhere to live?" Tracer shakes their head at him before looking down at their dirt covered hands. They can't even remember what it's like to sleep in a warm bed… "Come on, you can come with me."

"No," Tracer whispers quickly, terrified of going to some stranger's home.

Emerson stares at them, hurt and confusion on his face even though he doesn't know them at all and shouldn't be hurt. "Not even for a warm meal and a shower? My sister is cooking dinner tonight and I know she would love having someone over."

The thought is…tempting enough that Tracer almost starts nodding their head without really realizing it. They can't go to some stranger's house…not even for the promise of food. They can't give up on Beta. And they can't- they can't trust this stranger. "No, I-I can't."

"O-okay…" Emerson says sadly, stepping back from Tracer as they start quickly picking up their scattered supplies, dropping some of the things in their haste to get away from him. "Here, let me he-"

"No!" Tracer yells at him, flinching away when he reaches out to pick up an herb. They snatch it away from him and quickly back away, tripping over their feet as they try to get away. "Stay back."

Emerson's face is full of hurt, but Tracer doesn't trust him. They _can't_ let themself trust him, no matter how kind and concerned his face looks. They fell for kind and trusting faces once before and look at what happened… "I just want to help…" Emerson sighs and runs his hand through his hair again. He gives one last sad look at Tracer, turning to leave them behind, "Well, if you ever change your mind…we're at the corner of Fifth and Cherry."

"I can't," Tracer whispers as they watch him leave, occasionally looking back over his shoulder at them as tears start to fall down their cheeks. "Not until I get him back…"

* * *

 _In Memory of Tanelai Dorvet, 5_ _th_ _Place_

 _Six Months Later_

He couldn't stand there anymore, watching the victor give her speech, proudly supporting and proclaiming her loyalty for the Capitol.

He is _done._

Daram turns around and starts storming out of the town square, pushing through the crowd gathered there to celebrate the victor. _The victor that isn't Tanelai._ Daram stops at the edge of the crowd, hesitating to keep walking forward and down this path, knowing there will be no turning back. But he does have right now to look back, and he stares long at the portrait of Tanelai, hanging behind where her parents stand on the stage. He studies every detail of her face, knowing this will truly be the last time he sees her. He refuses to watch any reruns of these Games, too torn apart every time he sees her and is reminded of the gaping hole in his chest left behind by her death.

"Why, Tanny?" Daram whispers to her picture as the crowd applauds the victor, his eyes welling with tears. "Was it worth giving your life for him when he didn't even win?"

It wasn't worth it. It will never be worth it. He has to keep on living without her, constantly being reminded that the victor wasn't her, watching her death replayed over and over.

He can't do this anymore.

Daram takes off running from the crowd, away from the victor that isn't Tanelai, and towards the people that can actually do something to help him. He doesn't really know if the rumors are true…but if there are rebels out there in Seven that he can help bring down the Games, he won't stop until he finds them. He heads into the forested area, knowing the rumors have said that there's one house to go to if their looking to join the rebels…

Daram slows when he approaches the house, hesitating to actually go up and knock on the door. What if the rumors are wrong? What if it's all a trap set by the Capitol to catch people with rebellious thoughts? If so…so be it. Let them arrest him, put him in prison…or kill him. If he is dead…he can at least be with Tanny again. If this house is truly the rebels…then he can do some good and stop the Games from taking anyone else away by the Games.

Daram takes the remaining steps up to the house, his mind set. Either way, at least he is doing something. Yet he still hesitates at the door, holding his hand up, still debating knocking.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Daram takes two steps from the door, fear filling him after knocking. What has he done? A minute passes with no one opening the door and Daram finally decides to turn around and leave, heavy sadness filling his chest.

"What do you want?" Daram freezes at the harsh voice calling out to him and he stays frozen in place. "Well kid?"

Slowly, Daram turns around to face the man in the door barely open, the chain lock still on. Yet…Daram doesn't run away yet. Why would this man be here and not in the town square for the victory tour? "I…I heard rumors."

"Don't listen to the rumors, kid," the man says harshly towards him, looking ready to close the door. But he hesitates, staring at Daram intensely. "Do I know you?"

Daram shakes his head, "I don't think so."

"Wait, I do," the man says before shutting the door and undoing the top lock so he can fully open it. He steps outside, keeping the door mostly closed behind him as he approaches Daram. "You were interviewed during the final eight. That girl's boyfriend."

"Tanny," Daram says, feeling hurt by him not remembering her name. "And she wasn't just some girl, she was the love of my life!"

"Kid, don't throw your life away because you lost someone to the Games."

"Please," Daram begs them, almost on the verge of tears. He even drops down to his knees, needing this so badly. "Let me help stop them. I'll do anything you ask me to do!"

The man stares down at him for a few long seconds and Daram starts to think he'll get turned away. "Why do you want to bring down the Capitol?"

"Because," Daram says, tears flowing down his cheeks as he hunches over, losing the fight in him right now as grief overwhelms him once more. "They took away the person I love in the Games. No one else should have to experience that."

The man stares at him for a long minute before sighing loudly as he holds out his hand to him. "Fine, we'll see if she'll talk to you. I'm Darion. Darion Martinez."

* * *

 _In Memory of Stark Calloway, 4_ _th_ _Place_

 _Six Years Later_

Another year where Bronn has failed. He doesn't know how much more he can go to the Capitol. The others are able to detach themselves from the volunteers, but Bronn can't. Every year he feels guilt for failing to bring home another tribute to their family. He had sworn last time would be his last, after he failed to get Stark home years ago… Failed because of his own arrogance. But he knew Stark wasn't that bad…at least, he wasn't once when he first started and Bronn sponsored his training. He got so close, yet everyone has forgotten about him, except for when Kat teaches them mistakes of past volunteers. Stark is always shown then. He's become a joke to the trainees, just a failed moment for District Two. Especially compared to the two victors that they had back to back in the years after Stark.

No, Bronn can't bring himself to mentor again.

"Come on, fight me!"

Bronn is startled by the young voice screaming as he steps out of the training center, recognizing the young voice. He runs over to the girl, finding the small blonde girl standing in front of three of the trainees her age. "Let me fight you!"

"Glacia!" Bronn calls out to her and the three trainees quickly run away at the sound of his voice, not wanting to get in trouble with Kat Liero's favorite victor. But Glacia stands her ground as Bronn approaches, her head down and refusing to look up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanna…" Glacia mumbles something, but he doesn't fully hear what she said.

"What?"

"I want to train!" Glacia yells, picking up her head to look at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm tired of them bullying me! Every day they say terrible things about me and Grandma… Do you know what they say about Grandma?"

"I do, Glacia," Bronn says with a heavy sigh, knowing all too well what the trainees think about their eldest victor, one who was untrained and still suffers from the Games. Sylvia is his best friend and he would do anything for her or her family, and the words always hurt him.

"I want to prove them all wrong," Glacia says stubbornly, crossing her arms at him and reminding Bronn so much of her grandmother in that moment. "But they won't let me train! They say I'm too old to start and I'll never catch up in time. But I will! Why don't they see that?"

Bronn sighs once more, knowing the rules about the training center. But they were rules he helped Kat form, and he can easily break them. Except…this isn't just any kid in District Two… This is his best friend's _granddaughter_. What will Sylvia say to him if he helps Glacia train? She would tell him to let Glacia be her own person and make her own choices. She's always wanted Glacia to do what makes her happy. And how can he say no when Glacia is looking up at him with big wide teary eyes? "Glacia…it won't be easy training. You have a year to catch up on."

"I'll work extra hard," Glacia reassures him. "I'll work every day and night until I catch up. No! Until I'm better than them!"

"I can't protect you during training…" Bronn tells her, hating this fact. "I can't show favoritism towards you around the others."

"I won't need your protection," Glacia stubbornly says, but he knows she will. The kids in training are ruthless. But he can't protect her forever…

Bronn sighs, "Okay-" He holds up a hand when Glacia starts grinning at him. "I'll get you in and help you with the extra training hours to catch up. If I can't, I'll get Darach to help you out. Lysander too, but he's busy training with Maylene for next year." Bronn sighs at how excited she looks at the thought of training with those two and he knows he can't mentor her. Not when he knows her already and is her grandmother's best friend. If he were to fail…he'd never be able to face himself or Sylvia again.

"But I can't mentor you when you are picked to volunteer."

"Why not?" Glacia asks, starting to pout at him and give him the look that she has used many times to get things from him. "We would work great together and-"

"I just _can't_ , Glacia," Bronn interrupts her, feeling guilty at the hurt in her eyes. "Please trust me when I say it's for a good reason… I just can't mentor anymore. But…I'll make sure you have the best person to mentor you. And will we get you out of that arena and show them all that they picked the wrong girl to bully."

"Promise?" Glacia asks him, holding out her pinky to him. In that moment, she reminds him so much of the little girl that's grown up next to him. But she's not that little girl anymore. She's growing up, even if he doesn't want her to, and he just agreed to help her do the one thing he wishes he never experienced.

"Pinky promise."

* * *

 _In Memory of Garth Rycroft, 3_ _rd_ _Place_

 _Four Years Later_

The path through the graveyard is one that Harlow has memorized, even if he wishes every day that it was something he didn't know. Especially on this day… Every year on this day for the last four years he has been here to talk to his first love. But for the first time, he's not walking this path alone.

"Harlow… what are we doing here?"

Harlow squeezes the hand in his before glancing back, unable to help the smile that forms every time he looks at the man. "Please, we're almost there…"

"Okay, I trust you," Erik tells him, smiling as he takes a couple extra steps so he can lean over and kiss the top of Harlow's head as they walk.

Harlow lets himself smile at the moment before the guilt that he has had to push down fills him as they get closer to the headstone. He needs to do this…Harlow knows he wouldn't want him to be living in guilt because he is finally ready to move on and feel love again.

Harlow slows as the reach the area of the graveyard reserved for fallen tributes and pulls Erik to a stop. "Erik…I know you don't ask much about Garth and I…I appreciate that. But…I'm ready to talk about him."

Erik immediately looks concerned at him and pulls him into a hug. "Whenever you're ready. I'll wait however long you need."

"That's why I'm ready," Harlow says with a laugh through tears. He steps back out of Erik's hug and takes his hand again to lead him over to the pair from the 113th Games. He lets go of Erik's hand a few feet away from the headstone and Erik stays back, letting Harlow approach on his own first. Harlow shakily sets down the single flower he bought on the ground before running his hand over the etched letters. _Garth Rycroft._

"Hi Garth…" Harlow takes a deep breath as he sits down on the ground and leans against the headstone, trying to be as close to Garth as he can. He shuts his eyes as he tries to hold back the tears that he is never able to stop on this day. "It's been four years now… I still miss you so much, every single day I think about you. And I still forgive you…"

Harlow leans his head back, letting the warm sunshine hit his face. "Your family is doing okay… They're doing the best they can after your grandfather's passing… I still don't know who is making the anonymous payments to them, but someone is still watching out for them. And Kimbra…well, she's still Kimbra. She's actually going on a date tomorrow night and I'm happy for her. This girl calms her stubbornness down."

"As for me…" Harlow opens his eyes and finds Erik watching him, concerned look in his eyes but encouraging smile on his face that Harlow does his best to return. "It's been tough opening my heart up again… For a while I felt like I couldn't do that. I couldn't move on after you. Not with you never knowing that I forgive you for everything. They're right about what they say about how you still always love your first love. I felt guilty moving on because it felt like I was forgetting about you, even though I wasn't. But…then I met Erik." Harlow smiles to himself just thinking about Erik and how much of a blessing he has been in his life. "I brought him here today so you can meet him… He's been so very good to me, Garth…even when I've struggled to open myself back up to someone like this. I think you'll like him."

Harlow holds out his hand to Erik and he quickly steps over, taking Harlow's hand tightly as he crouches down next to him. "Erik… Garth is one of the most important people to me. He always will be. I…I've been afraid to open up about him to anyone and share such a personal part of me. But…it's time."

Erik lets go of Harlow's hand to put both hands on his face. He stares at him, so much love in his eyes that Harlow doesn't feel like he deserves. "I love you, you know that? And nothing is going to change that."

"I love you too," Harlow whispers, not even having time to think about saying those words to someone else in that moment. Surprise fills Erik's face before a grin immediately forms, making a matching smile form on Harlow's face and he lets out a laugh, despite the tears falling down his cheeks. "Wow…it's been so long since I've said that."

"Well you can keep saying it many times," Erik tells him, leaning forward to kiss his cheeks where tears are falling. "Hmm, salty," Erik teases him, making Harlow laugh even more before turning his head to look over at the headstone, feeling guilty about joking in front of Garth… "Sorry, I'll be serious. This isn't the time for joking."

"It's okay…" Harlow tells him, sighing at himself for ruining the moment with Erik because of his guilt. But…Garth wouldn't want him having this guilt. He turns to look at the headstone better, taking Erik's hand once more. "Garth…I hope you approve of him. And me loving him doesn't take away from the love I still have for you."

"I promise I'm going to protect him," Erik tells Garth and Harlow sobs at this. Erik pulls him closer, rubbing a hand on his shoulder and letting him sob against him. "I'm going to look out for him and make sure he gets all the love he deserves… You don't have to worry about him. He'll be safe with me."

Harlow picks his head up to smile at Erik through his tears. "I know I will. Between you and Garth watching over me, I know I'll be safe and loved."

* * *

 _In Memory of Pyrite Cherno, 2_ _nd_ _Place_

As the car comes to a stop outside of the funeral home, Muir just stares out the window at the door, questioning her decision to come here. Guilt has plagued her the entire car ride from the train to the funeral home, making her question why she asked the President of Panem to allow her to make this stop before heading back home to Four. She thought at the time it would help her move forward, but now that she's here…she wants to run the opposite way instead of facing the people inside mourning Pyrite because of her.

"Are you going to go in or just sit there all day?" Muir turns to look over at her mentor, finding Okeanas picking at her nails in the seat next to her. She looks up at the newest victor, annoyed expression on her face. "If you're not going to go in, what was even the point of us stopping in One?"

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Muir says with a sigh, putting on her large black hat and making sure most of her hair is tucked away. She pulls down the small lace veil and just hopes she can get through this without Pyrite's family recognizing her. "Okay," she says to herself, wringing her hands together for a moment before opening the door and stepping out before she can lose her courage to face them.

Muir keeps her head down as she enters the funeral home and heads into the line waiting to say their last respects to Pyrite. She can't see their body yet, just the lid of the open coffin, but it's enough to already bring tears into her eyes. She doesn't think she can do this.

Yet she stays in line, head down and occasionally wiping away tears with black gloved hands. Too quickly the line is moving, bringing her closer and closer to Pyrite and their family standing nearby to thank those attending. Muir looks over at them for a moment, feeling immense guilt at their two younger brothers standing with their mother and uncle, a family torn apart.

All too soon it's Muir's time to pay respects and she shakily walks forward, unable to look away from the pale face of her former friend. Her legs nearly give out as she kneels down next to the coffin and reaches in to touch Pyrite's hand before almost flinching away at the cold and unnatural feel to their skin. "Hi, friend…" Muir whispers to them, staring at their face that still has a hint of a smile on it. She glances down at their chest, able to imagine the wound she made there under the dress shirt. "I…I wanted to say goodbye to you properly."

Muir chokes back a sob as she leans her head against the edge of the coffin. "I'm so sorry…I really hope you forgive me…"

Muir stays there for a few moments, letting herself silently cry next to her friend. So much guilt eats away at her stomach, guilt she will never be able to eliminate. Pyrite is here now because of her…but if she hadn't done what she did, it would have been her body sitting cold in a funeral home with barely anyone stopping by. She wouldn't have had the lines of people saying goodbye like Pyrite has here. She isn't as loved as Pyrite was… _is_ loved…

"Are you alright, dear?"

Muir flinches at a comforting hand placed on her shoulder and looks over to find Pyrite's mother leaning down, concern on her face stained with tears. But as soon as she sees Muir's face, she steps back, flinching away as Muir slowly stands up to face Pyrite's family. "I…Muir…?"

At the sound of Muir's name, Pyrite's family stops talking and all stare over at her, and Muir finds herself trying to pull her hat over her face to hide. But it's too late. They know she's here and don't look very happy about it…

"What are you doing here?" Mica yells at her, and Muir is frozen in place by her guilt, unable to escape from the boy yelling at her. She deserves it. "How dare you come here after what you did to them?!"

"I'm sorry," Muir whispers to Pyrite's family, not knowing what else she could possibly say to them right now. She's the reason they're mourning. "I wanted to say goodbye to them…"

Mica starts screaming at her again and his uncle picks him up, dragging him outside as he tells Muir how horrible of a person she is. And she is. She didn't even give Pyrite the chance to fight her. Tears flow freely down her face and Muir lets out a sob as Pyrite's mother looks over at her, unreadable expression on her face as she keeps her hand on her youngest child's shoulders. "I…" she takes a shaky breath before shaking her head at Muir. "I think it's best if you leave."

"Okay," Muir says meekly as she turns to leave, but not before taking one last look back at Pyrite's body. "Goodbye, friend…"

Muir pushes past people on her way out, trying to ignore the cruel looks they now give her since her identity has been revealed. She runs into the car waiting up front and finally lets out a sob as Okeanas stares over at her. "Didn't go well, huh? Welcome to life as a victor. You're either loved or hated for what you did in that arena."

The car starts driving right away and Muir stares out the window, silently crying as District One flies past her. "I don't think I deserve to be loved for what I did…"

"Hmph," Okeanas says, sounding displeased with her. "I disagree with that… And I think you'll find people in District Four are going to be much more welcoming than One. After all, you're the newest victor there. Here, well, of course they hate you…you're the person that took away their newest victor."

* * *

 **Well there we have it, our second epilogue! And this one dedicated towards remembering the fallen featured tributes. I had fun getting to look at some of their loved ones after the events of these Games. And yes, I did try to make each one angsty lol.**

 **Thoughts on each one? Who do you think is holding up the best after losing their loved one? And who is doing the worst?**

 **RQ #33:** Easy question, which one was your favorite?

 **Alrighty, we have one last epilogue left in this story and then we're officially done with Wayward T.T I'll get all sappy next time lol. We're going to have one last look at Muir in this story, one year later!**


	41. Epilogue III: Happy

**Epilogue III:**

 _One Year Later_

 _Muir Barak, Victor of the 113_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Muir stands alone in the crowd, wearing a large sun hat with her hair tucked in it and sunglasses to try and disguise herself. She didn't want the questions from people about what their most recent victor is doing at the ceremony to celebrate the changing of the guard. But, she supposes they are going to know soon enough when her father is finally able to remove his Peacekeeper uniform and just be a parent to her. Maybe she just doesn't want the stares today. She doesn't want people still being thrilled to see their newest victor. She doesn't want them asking her what she thinks about this year's volunteers. She knows them – _too_ well – from training with them for years and only being a year older than them. She's nowhere near being ready to mentor and thankfully Okeanas is letting her take this year off. She's lucky Four has enough victors to give those that don't want to mentor a welcome reprieve. Besides, she doesn't want to go to the Capitol so soon after finally getting to reunite with her father.

She's so desperately needed a parent's love in this past year. No matter how much the Games forced her to grow up, she will never be too old to want a hug from her father. There's been so many nights she's awoken from nightmares, reliving the finale and the dirty move she did. Pyrite hadn't deserved a betrayal like that, yet she did it. She did whatever it took to make it home. But sometimes the nightmare shifts to it being the other way around, and Muir has to watch as Pyrite takes the victory, leaving her family alone. On those nights, all she wants is to have her father hug her and reassure her that she made the right choice. And the worst part is that she knows he has been there all along this entire time. It was the second request that Muir had made to President Xavier nearly a year ago. She had asked how long it would be until Peacekeepers would be able to have families, but the answer was not one she liked. Over a year. Lukas had less than a year left in service. So instead she asked him to move Lukas to guarding the Victor's Village so she could always have him close. And he has been there, as much as he could without getting killed for it. On those sleepless nights, when she would wander the beach, she would find him approaching her, asking if everything is alright. She would say she's fine, they would stare at each other and know she's lying, but there wasn't anything else they could do. All this time, he's been so close to her, yet unable to really be there. But not any longer.

"It is time to honor the ten people behind me who have dedicate a life of service to Panem," Commander Noble tells the gathered crowd. It's a respectable sized crowd here in Four where many who have not been chosen to volunteer go into service. Muir had once imagined that future for herself. But now her future is standing on that stage. "These people have selflessly dedicated their life to Panem, taking no family during this time." Muir's heart breaks at this, knowing it stopped her father from marrying her mother and being there for her. How different would her life have been if he could have been there? She doubts she would have gone into the Games…she never would have this guilt she wears daily. But…she also wouldn't have met Pyrite, and the guilt is worth it for their friendship. "Today ends their service and we thank them."

Muir claps loudly with the crowd before Commander Noble starts calling up each person individually and instructing them to remove their helmet so he can place a medal of honor around their neck. She impatiently waits as he moves down the alphabet, each person getting applause from the crowd as they are honored… Brockett… Drudi… Holtzman… Kuijken… Mashan.

Muir holds her breath, knowing that the next name is going to be Oreste. She's knows the build of her father in that uniform. A pit of nerves builds in her and she doesn't understand why. This is what she has been waiting to happen for the last three years. But now that it's finally here, it feels too good to be true.

"Oreste, Lukas."

Muir cheers the loudest in the crowd at hearing her father's name called out and as he steps towards the commander, he searches through the crowd for her. He finds her in the back and his gaze lingers for a moment before he faces the commander. "Sergeant Oreste, please remove your helmet." Muir holds her breath as she finally gets to see Lukas in person and keep seeing him. The commander puts the medal around his neck, "Thank you for your service to Panem."

Muir leads the crowd in clapping for Lukas as he steps back in line and looks out at her in the crowd, grinning at her. She finds herself returning the grin, surprising herself as it's the first time in a while she has felt this happy.

The rest of the ceremony passes quickly after that and soon, the former Peacekeepers are able to head into the crowd, being greeted as normal civilians for the first time in years. Muir still lingers at the edge of the crowd, ignoring a few looks that she gets, just watching Lukas as he greets friends of his. She has waited all this time for this, what's a few more minutes?

Finally, he heads over towards her, proud smile on his face. He holds out his arms to her and Muir is in them in an instant, clutching onto her father tightly and already starting to cry. "Why do I keep making you cry when I meet you?"

Muir laughs at this and lets go of him, taking off her sunglasses so she can look at him better and wipe away her tears. "They're good tears."

"Good," Lukas says before wiping away another rogue tear. "I don't want to see any more sad tears coming from you." Muir sighs at this, knowing that that won't happen any time soon… Not with the next Games approaching soon and bringing a fresh reminder of what she did. "Can I just say how very proud I am of you?"

"I don't deserve it," Muir answers honestly, slowly sinking into the guilt that is always threatening to bring her down. "Sorry, I don't want to ruin this day by being upset about something that was almost a year ago."

"Oh honey, I don't care," Lukas tells her, only making her want to cry even more. "Nothing is going to stop me from being beyond happy at finally getting to be your father."

"I've really needed my dad…" Muir says quietly before trying to force herself to smile at him through her tears. "There's plenty of space in the Victor's Village… I don't know if it's weird for you to move in right away. I mean, I don't mind, but also, we don't really know each other…"

"We have lots of time to get to know each other," Lukas says gently and Muir nods her head at him. "We can take this slowly. It's going to take a while for both of us to adjust to this."

"True…" Muir says and they fall into a slightly uncomfortable silence.

"So, you've been taking surfing lessons?" Lukas asks her to fill the silence and Muir nods her head in answer. "Do you like it?"

"Eh," Muir says with a shrug. "I'm on my third instructor already. They all keep asking about the Games instead of just teaching me how to actually stay upright on the board. But Stelios seems…well, the typical flirty surfer but at least he doesn't ask about the Games."

"Do I need to go have a word with this lad? Tell him to stop flirting with my daughter?" Lukas teases, making Muir flush immediately at how embarrassing that would be.

"No, no, that's really not necessary," Muir says quickly, laughing nervously and trying to divert the topic because she's really not sure if Lukas will go talk to Stelios or not, and it was hard enough to find another surf instructor who _won't_ ask her about the Games. She clears her throat before pulling out the necklace tucked under her dress. She holds the chain out to Lukas, watching his eyes – the eyes she inherited from him – tear up at the sight of the ring hanging from it. She's held onto it this entire time, waiting for the day she could finally give it back to him. "You should have this… Thank you for giving it to me before the Games." Muir takes a shaky breath as she turns away from him, blinking to fight back the tears that always threaten to fall when she thinks too long about the Games. "It…helped more than you know. In those last moments…"

"Shh, I understand," Lukas tells her before pulling her into a tight hug, giving her the comfort she's so desperately craved. "You keep it. Keep it as a memory of your mother and then maybe one day if you find a nice person you want to marry, you can give it to them. And then you can give it to any kids you have and-"

"Dad!" Muir cuts him off as she pulls back, giving him an exasperated look that just makes him chuckle. "First day of parenting and you're already asking about grandchildren!"

Lukas laughs loudly at this, an infectious laugh that makes Muir start smiling at. She could get used to hearing that every day. "I know, I've just had a lot of time to think about this. I…" He grows serious and Muir reaches out for his hand, finding herself not wanting to let go of him in case this is all some messed up dream and if she lets go, he'll disappear and leave her alone. "I just don't want you missing out on a family like I did."

"You have a family now," Muir tells him softly, hating to see her father's face filled with so much regret. "And I'm still way too young to be thinking about a family. I have lots of time for that."

"Yes, you do," Lukas smiles at her again and Muir grins back. God, she can get used to him smiling proudly at her like that every day. "We have lots of time now."

Muir nods her head, knowing how lucky she is to have this time with him. And she is going to appreciate every damn minute she has with her father. "You know…" Muir starts quietly, not wanting to dampen the mood by bringing up the Games, but she has to. "The last thing Pyrite asked me was if I would be happy when I won. And for the past year, if they asked me if I was happy, the answer would have been no…" Lukas immediately starts frowning at this and opens his mouth to start speaking, but Muir holds up her hand to stop him so she can continue. "But if they asked now…"

"What would be the answer?"

"Yes," Muir tells him, feeling her eyes welling up with tears as she thinks about her friend. She hopes that she hasn't disappointed them in the past year, but all she could do was wait for this day. And the wait was so worth it. "Yes, I am happy now."

* * *

 **And with that...Wayward has come to an end. Of course, this isn't the end of Muir's story. But for this chapter of her life, it's the end, and she is finally happy with her family.**

 **Thank you all for coming along this wild journey two years in the making, whether you submitted a tribute or just read along. I hope you have enjoyed this whirlwind of emotions as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and supported this story, it has meant so much to me. And especially big thank you to the people who submitted featured tributes. I know I didn't have one of yours win, but I loved all of them. They were all so dynamic and complex and I don't think I cried as much writing deaths in Overlooked as I did with this group of tributes.**

 **Thanks once again. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts once last time on this story. And I hope you'll stick around with me and read some of the other stories I have going on :)**

 **RQ #35:** What was your favorite moment of this story?

 **And one last time...everyone, please, carry on.**


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